


'til i fell in love with you

by vtforpedro



Category: Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them (Movies)
Genre: -slaps roof of fic- do you know how much fluff this baby fits, Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Blood Drinking, Fluff and Humor, Happy Credence Barebone, Human/Vampire Relationship, Light Angst, M/M, Original Percival Graves is a Softie, POV Credence Barebone, Romantic Fluff, Sappy, Smut, Vampire Bites, Vampire Original Percival Graves
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-07-28
Updated: 2020-07-28
Packaged: 2021-03-06 03:01:00
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 36,088
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25566304
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/vtforpedro/pseuds/vtforpedro
Summary: In which Credence meets his new neighbor, a man who may not be all he seems, and learns that love truly can be found in unexpected places.
Relationships: Credence Barebone/Original Percival Graves
Comments: 32
Kudos: 98





	1. Chapter 1

Credence sits in his bedroom, at his computer desk, typing out an essay that’s due on Friday. It’s only Saturday, but he likes to finish his work as quickly as possible, so he might not worry himself sick thinking about it through the week.   
  
It’s his senior year at NYU and coursework is as difficult as it’s ever been. He plans on pursuing his Master’s after this, as they have been so thoroughly prepared for their degrees that he’ll only need one additional year of studying. It’s an odd thought sometimes, that he’ll have a Master’s degree, when once upon a time the thought of even getting to high school seemed impossible.   
  
But that was a long time ago, when life wasn’t as bright, when it was darker and filled with fear and heartache. Now life is open to him, hopeful and kind, and he thinks about stopping his essay so he can go thank his parents for what they’ve done for him, ever since they adopted him all those years ago.   
  
Credence is distracted by the sound of a large truck and glances out of his window. A moving truck pulls in front of the home directly across from his, which sold a couple weeks ago, though no one had seen anyone looking at it, to the intense gossip of the neighborhood.   
  
He watches curiously, but they only seem to be the movers, all their shirts the same, advertising the moving company. They take in two sofas and an armchair, and the various other pieces of living room, dining room and bedroom furniture. It’s all wrapped up so much that Credence can’t get a very good look at it.   
  
He thinks a person’s furniture says a lot about them.   
  
The movers leave after a couple hours and Credence doesn’t see anyone else come to the house. Not until later that evening, after he has eaten dinner and told his parents how much he appreciates them. They know it and they keep telling him he doesn’t have to say it, but he thinks he does and will always continue to.   
  
When Credence takes a soda and bag of chips up to his room and sits at his desk again, he sees a black truck pull into the driveway of the home. The sun is beginning to set, but it’s still bright enough out to get a look at his new neighbors.   
  
A man steps out of the truck, dressed in dark jeans and a grey shirt, black sunglasses on his nose. His hair is dark and he looks clean shaven. He can’t be forty, Credence thinks, though he doesn’t quite know for sure.   
  
What he does know is that the man is handsome. He can’t make his face out all the way, but he  _ knows _ he’s devastatingly handsome. He carries it in his shoulders, in the way he walks, proud and confident, toward his front door.   
  
No one else shows up that night and Credence wonders if he’s married. If his wife will come later, perhaps even with children.   
  
The devastatingly handsome ones are always married or actors or too damn arrogant to be anything other than insufferable.   
  
In the morning, his mother has spotted the man’s truck and sets out to make brownies, her usual welcome to the neighborhood go-to. Other neighbors will make various other things, until the new neighbor has been thoroughly sussed out and they can exchange notes on them.   
  
Credence rolls his eyes but he takes a spoonful of batter when Mom isn’t looking anyway.   
  
He watches various neighbors flock to the house throughout the day as he sits at his desk and wraps up his essay. It’s only ever the man that answers the door but his entryway is set too far back for Credence to see anything other than the lower half of his legs.   
  
The neighbors that leave chat animatedly on their way back home and he thinks he must be friendly, for them to do so.   
  
That evening, at dinner, his mother tells Credence and his father all about him.   
  
“Percival Graves,” she recites. “A debonair sort of name, isn’t it?”   
  
Credence and his father exchange a look. “Was he debonair, dear?” Dad asks.   
  
“Actually, he was,” Mom says with a grin. “Though he prefers Percy, he said. Very classically handsome, very charming. He’ll be popular with the younger wives or maybe Stacey, she’s still single. He’s not even forty and it’s just him in there. No children, never been married. A man like him!”   
  
Credence pushes a red potato around on his plate. “Mom’s got a crush,” he says and smiles when she smacks his arm.   
  
“I’m afraid I’m still madly in love with your father, Credence.”   
  
“I am lucky for it every day,” Dad says with a wry smile. “He say what he does for work?”   
  
“He said he’s in security and works late nights,” Mom says.   
  
Dad hums. “Must be a hell of a security job.”   
  
Credence thinks so too. They live in Jericho, one of the nicest places to live in New York, and his parents are well off. Another thing he’s grateful for, because they’ve been able to let him pursue an education without school loans, though he still has a hard time asking for more than that.   
  
The neighborhood is an expensive one, so whatever Percy Graves does must be more than a simple security officer.   
  
“Maybe he works for the CIA or FBI,” Credence says. “Could explain not being married and not having children. The handsome ones are always spies.”   
  
“Well, if he can spy on and tell me whoever is letting their dog shit in my begonias, I’d be glad for it,” Dad says dryly.   
  
“Just get a camera,” Credence says. “They’re not expensive.”   
  
They talk about more mundane things and Credence spends an hour on the sofa with them, watching television. He goes back to his room to watch some Netflix of his own and as he’s grabbing his laptop from his desk, he sees his new neighbor walking toward his truck.   
  
Credence watches him curiously, biting his lower lip, and frowns when the man stops. He looks toward Credence’s window and Credence hastily looks away, taking his laptop to his bed and out of view.   
  
He’ll have to close the blinds later.   
  
——   
  
The next time he sees Percy Graves is much the same way. He’s sitting at his desk, typing away on his laptop, and through his open window, an April breeze flowing nicely through, he sees the garage open.   
  
It’s sparse, but there is a tool bench that Percy Graves walks to. He’s only wearing jeans and a white tank top and Credence purses his lips, looking away.   
  
It’s getting later in the afternoon and the sun will go down soon, but when Credence looks out of the corner of his eye, he sees that Mister Graves has the hood of his truck up and is peering inside of it, from the side.   
  
Credence can see the muscles in his arms, nicely defined when he’s tensing them, and mourns the fact that even if his new neighbor is not married, arrogant, or an actor, he is still too much for Credence.   
  
He’s talking to a friend of his on Skype and complains about handsome men and how unreachable they are for a while, occasionally looking out of the window.   
  
Mister Graves has stopped to take a drink from a water bottle and Credence’s own mouth feels rather dry as he watches him drink. He’s sweaty and  _ hot _ and Credence wishes he could get a better look at him, if he wouldn’t make a fool out of himself in front of him.   
  
Credence sends another message to his friend and glances out of the window. His stomach loops and his heart skips a beat, because Mister Graves is looking at him. He lifts his water bottle in a hello, Credence supposes, and hopes that he can’t see that he’s turned red, considering the heat in his face.   
  
He tentatively waves back and turns back to his laptop, not sure if Mister Graves was being polite or if he’d noticed Credence staring and was kindly telling him to fuck off.   
  
So he doesn’t look out of the window again, not until he’s closing it when the air begins to get too cold. Mister Graves isn’t outside anymore, his truck gone and the house dark, and Credence tries not to wonder why he feels disappointed.   
  
Of course, he isn’t disappointed for long, because he meets Percy Graves the very next evening.   
  
Credence spends his day at campus in Manhattan and doesn’t get home until after six that night, after a few hours in the library with his friends and classmates. He eats dinner with his parents and takes out the trash after, dragging the receptacle out to the street for pick up in the morning.   
  
His heart leaps, when he sees that Mister Graves is in his driveway again, his truck’s hood open, wearing a white tank top and jeans again. The sun is starting to go down, but he can see a smear of grease on his arm and thinks the movies have it right, dousing actors in grease.   
  
Credence turns back toward his home, but he hears a voice say, “Credence, isn’t it?”   
  
He freezes, his heart leaping, but he turns back around and looks at Mister Graves, who is wiping his hands off with a rag and looking at him.   
  
“Yes,” Credence calls. “Mister Graves?”   
  
“Percy, please,” Percy says as he tosses the rag aside and begins to walk across the street.   
  
Credence thinks it’s only polite to meet him at the curb, though he regrets it when he does, because Percy  _ is _ devastatingly handsome. A sharp jaw, dark eyes and a sternness about him, though he’s smiling. And what a smile it is. Credence has a hard time not going weak in the knees as Percy extends his hand.   
  
He shakes it and is surprised his palm is cool, after working on the truck.   
  
“Nice to meet you, sir,” Credence says, because he’s lost his head a little.   
  
“Percy,” Percy says again and looks amused. “Your mother said you’re studying at NYU?”   
  
“Yes,” Credence says and clears his throat. “Social services.”   
  
“That’s a wide range of career choices,” Percy says and looks over Credence’s face in what might be a blatantly flirtatious way, if Credence believed he was interested.   
  
He nods. “Definitely. I’ll be focusing on foster care though,” he says and looks at the ground, to get a moment of respite from Percy’s dark, intense eyes. “One more year after this.”   
  
“You’re a junior?”   
  
“No, senior,” Credence says as he looks at Percy and smiles. “I’ll be getting my Master’s next year.”   
  
Percy smiles. “Impressive,” he says. He gestures at his home. “Would you like to join me for a beer? I was hoping to get some inside information on the neighborhood,” he adds.   
  
Credence should say no. But why should he say no? He knows he should, he just can’t come up with any reason why, and Percy’s cologne and the faint smell of… man-musk are rather overwhelming.   
  
“Sure,” he hears himself say. “Though I stay out of the gossip.”   
  
“That’s what I was hoping for,” Percy says with a chuckle that makes Credence’s head spin.   
  
He follows Percy across the street and feels strangely dazed. It’s not until Percy has grabbed a lawn chair from the garage and put an open beer in Credence’s hand and he’s sitting down that he can blink himself out of it.   
  
Credence takes a drink of the beer and thinks he needs to get laid soon, if his neighbor’s smell alone is enough to make him heated.   
  
Percy sets his own beer on the engine and goes back to work on it. “How long have you lived here?”   
  
“Umm… since I was thirteen,” Credence says. “I was in Manhattan before that.”   
  
“Were you?” Percy asks as he looks at Credence with a smile. “Where at?”   
  
“Pike Street,” Credence sighs and isn’t quite sure why he’s being so honest. It feels like Percy could ask him anything and he’d spill his darkest secrets. “I don’t miss it. Jericho is a lot nicer.”   
  
Percy shrugs. “Different though,” he says. “I’m used to prowling around the city but I decided I wanted a bigger place, so here I am.”   
  
“You lived in Manhattan too?”   
  
“Uptown, for a while,” Percy says and grabs his beer, taking a long drink of it.   
  
Credence watches his throat as he swallows and feels a little hot under his collar. “My mom said it’s just you,” he says. “That you’re not married.”   
  
Percy smiles as he looks at Credence, wiping his mouth off, something that shouldn’t be as attractive as it is. “I’m not,” he says. “No real interest in it. I know it’s a big house, but like I said, I wanted the room. I haven’t had a yard in… a very long time.”   
  
“Dad only likes the yard because he hires landscapers,” Credence says with a smile as he leans back in the chair. He takes a drink of the beer, pleasantly light but flavorful. “You’re going to be popular here.”   
  
“Am I?” Percy asks with amusement. “So you are familiar with gossip.”   
  
Credence shrugs. “I’m familiar with what my mom says. There’s only one other person on the street who isn’t married,” he says. “Stacey, on the corner. She’s got a little girl.”   
  
“I think she came by yesterday,” Percy says rather indifferently. “Gave me macaroni salad, I believe.”   
  
Credence laughs. “They all probably stocked your fridge.”   
  
“They did,” Percy says with a smirk. “The brownies have been the best so far.” He turns back to his truck and reaches inside it, doing who knows what. “I’m not particularly looking to be popular, but it’s always worth it to be kind to your neighbors.”   
  
“Yeah,” Credence says as he watches the muscles in Percy’s arm as he turns a wrench. “But you’re a single man with no wife and kids, you’ll be the talk of the town for a while.”   
  
“Something to look forward to,” Percy says dryly. “What about you? Are you going off to be the resident bachelor somewhere, once you’ve graduated?”   
  
Credence huffs a little, smiling. “I’d like to move to the city, but I probably won’t be able to afford to live in Manhattan,” he says. “So maybe somewhere in between.”   
  
“Think you’ll enjoy it? Being on your own?”   
  
“Definitely,” Credence says. “I love my parents but it’ll be nice to have a place I can make my own. To have my friends over without worrying about being too loud.”   
  
“Girlfriends too?” Percy asks as he looks at Credence with a smirk.   
  
Credence takes a sip of the beer and shrugs. “I’m not interested.”   
  
“In women or in general?”   
  
“Both,” Credence says before he can stop himself. He curses himself a little for that, because it could be dangerous, to the wrong person. “I’m going to be more interested in starting my career than any attachments.”   
  
“A man after my own heart,” Percy says as he reaches into the engine again. “I know a little something about that.”   
  
Credence stares at him, a little dumbfounded, and takes a longer drink of the beer. “Is that why you’re not married?” he asks before he coughs. “Umm, sorry. I don’t… I shouldn’t ask such personal questions.”   
  
Percy shrugs as he glances at Credence with a smile. “I don’t mind if you do,” he says and there’s something in his voice that makes Credence squirm. “I find it more fun to not be tied down to one person. At least, not through sickness and health and all that. I get bored easily.”   
  
“Oh,” Credence says. He doesn’t think  _ he _ gets bored easily. Rather the opposite, he gets clingy, which is probably why his first relationship didn’t last and why he is so hesitant to get into a second one. “If you start bringing home a different guy every night you’re  _ really _ going to be the talk of the town.”   
  
That brings out a laugh, low and husky, and Credence looks for the alcohol volume on the beer, because he’s feeling a lot tipsy and he’s not halfway through it. It’s not even five percent, he thinks gloomily, and looks at Percy as he stands straight and grabs a rag, wiping the grease off his hands.   
  
“Maybe I won’t bring them home then,” Percy says. “You doing okay, Credence?”   
  
“Hmm?” Credence hums as blinks slowly. “Oh, yes. I had a long day at school. Almost twelve hours.”   
  
“It doesn’t seem fair for universities to put young people through that,” Percy says as he leans against the truck, smiling. “You must not have much time for yourself these days.”   
  
Credence shakes his head and takes another drink of the beer. “Not really,” he says. “Well, I mean, I meet up with my friends sometimes, after school, but my weekends are spent doing homework.”   
  
“Is that what you’re doing in your room all day?”   
  
That makes his heart skip a beat and begin to race, before he remembers he wasn’t as subtle as he was trying to be in staring at Percy the last two nights.   
  
“Yeah,” he manages to croak. “I should probably be doing that right now, actually.” He stands and is surprised how weak his knees feel. “Thank you for the beer.”   
  
“Of course,” Percy says and he’s looking at Credence like he’s a particular sort of delicacy. Or maybe it’s just normal interest, to Credence’s scrambled brains. “If you ever want to share another one, I’m home until evenings. Graveyard shift.”   
  
Credence nods and tries not to think about that too closely. “Sure,” he says and smiles. “Do you like that shift?”   
  
“I do,” Percy says with a smile. “It’s peaceful when the streets aren’t so busy. I’ve always been a bit of a night owl anyway.”   
  
“I wish I could be sometimes,” Credence says and shrugs. “But class starts at eight, so I better go. Thank you again, Mister Graves.”   
  
“Who?”   
  
Credence laughs. “Percy. Sorry,” he says and smiles, a bit dreamily. “Good night.”   
  
“Good night, Credence,” Percy says and looks amused again.   
  
Credence feels his eyes on him the entire way back across the street and the feeling doesn’t go away until he closes the door. In fact, the entire strangeness of what he’d been feeling immediately dissipates and leaves him with his heart pounding, leaning back against the door, a bit breathless.   
  
He’s not sure what in the world had come over him and wildly thinks it was Percy himself before he decides that’s not exactly possible. It was probably just being in the presence of that sort of man that made him wish he’d take him inside and fuck him within an inch of his life.   
  
His cheeks burn at that thought and he hurries upstairs and into his room, glad his blinds are closed, and locks the door. He collapses on his bed, feeling hot and bothered, and stares at the ceiling for a while, debating on a cold shower or another way to calm down.   
  
Credence chooses the latter and only tries not to feel badly about it after.   
  
——   
  
Credence tries to get through the rest of the week without thinking about his incredibly hot neighbor who may have put some sort of spell on him.   
  
Because he  _ can’t _ stop thinking about him. It’s like he’s under Credence’s skin, but not in a bad way, really, besides making him annoyingly horny whenever he’s in his room and it’s dark and he knows Percy is just across the street.   
  
It feels like being a teenager again, which isn’t exactly pleasant. He’s even had a couple dreams about Percy and thinks he’ll never be able to look him in the eye again.   
  
He only manages to keep his window closed for a few nights before his room gets too stuffy, between the warm days and cold nights, and he opens it with a sigh of relief. And if he glances at Percy’s house, well, he can’t be blamed for that, surely.   
  
But Percy isn’t outside working on his truck, though it’s parked in the driveway. Credence sighs and turns to his computer and goes over some of the easier assignments.   
  
It’s going on nine when the hairs on the back of Credence’s neck stand and his heart begins to race. He thinks he might be going into an unexpected panic attack, which wouldn’t really surprise him after the last few days, before he realizes it’s the feeling of being watched. He glances out of the window.   
  
Percy is walking down his driveway, not looking at Credence, but talking to a woman that must have been inside with him the last few hours. Her skin and clothes are dark, but her hair is a vibrant blonde, and Credence knows if he saw her face to face, she’d be gorgeous. It makes his heart sink a little.   
  
Maybe Percy swings both ways and he’d assumed too much.   
  
Besides, he has no sort of claim on him. Percy had said himself he gets bored and doesn’t like relationships, or at least not marriage. He is perfectly within his right to sleep with anyone he so chooses.   
  
So Credence doesn’t understand why it bothers him so much. Perhaps he’d hoped Percy’s interest would remain on him for a while, because he can’t lie to himself about that. Percy is interested and so is Credence, though he’s a bit wary to go near the house when Percy is working on the truck. He thinks it must have been carbon monoxide making his head as fuzzy as it did and contents himself with that explanation, despite the fact that it hadn’t been affecting Percy at all and the engine wasn’t on and they’d been in the open air.   
  
Credence goes to bed that night and tries not to think about it. But Percy appears in his dreams again and there’s something inhuman about him, a glow in his eyes and blood on his mouth.   
  
When he wakes in the morning, abruptly and sweaty, he can’t recall what he’d been dreaming about.   
  
He gets showered and dressed and grabs his laptop and backpack. He thinks he might get breakfast at school or on the way, because it’s far earlier than he usually leaves, but he feels the need to move. After saying goodbye to his mother, he walks outside and to his car, opening the back door and putting his backpack and laptop in. He hears another vehicle approaching and glances up, seeing a familiar black truck. Credence’s heart leaps but he supposes this would be about the time Percy would get home from work.   
  
Credence is tempted to dive into his car, but he’s too late, as Percy pulls up alongside him and lowers his window.   
  
He’s smiling, damn it all, and Credence desperately tries not to think about the dreams he does remember, quite thoroughly.   
  
“Good morning, Credence,” Percy says. “It’s god awful early.”   
  
Credence laughs. “Yeah,” he says and scratches his neck. “I woke up early. I was going to get breakfast and… a lot of coffee at school. Try not to fall asleep afterward.”   
  
Percy smiles and turns a little before he produces a brown paper bag and holds it out to Credence. “Breakfast burrito,” he says when Credence raises his eyebrows. He laughs at whatever look must be on Credence’s face. “I already had two on the drive home.”   
  
“Two?” Credence asks with a grin as he walks closer and takes the bag. It does have some heft to it and he looks inside at the foil wrapped burrito. “Thanks. How do you work off three breakfast burritos this size?” he asks as he looks at Percy.   
  
“I’m an active person,” Percy says with a smirk. “Nothing ever seems to stick. Doesn’t look like anything sticks on you either.”   
  
Credence doesn’t know why he blushes at that, but he does, and thinks he may just be a lost cause. “I ran track in high school,” he says with a smile. “Sometimes I run in the morning before class. I don’t expect high metabolism to stick around forever though.”   
  
“They do say it all goes downhill after forty,” Percy says with good humor, even while he’s looking Credence up and down. “Not far around the corner for me.”   
  
Credence wants to laugh and tell him that he’s fairly sure Percy will be sexy and fit well after forty, but the thought of it paralyzes him with embarrassment, because it’s so unlike him to voice such a thing out loud.   
  
“I don’t think you’ll have a problem with that,” Credence says, because it’s not as inappropriate and maybe, just maybe, Percy might understand that he’s interested too.   
  
It’s probably not a good idea, but Credence thinks if he doesn’t at least try it might drive him crazy.   
  
Percy smiles and it’s gentler than Credence had been expecting. He’d expected a gloating smirk, he thinks, because men like Percy know they’re attractive.   
  
“Let’s hope not,” he says and winks. “What are you doing tonight?”   
  
Credence’s stomach might be filled with butterflies. “Umm…” he trails off and shrugs helplessly. “Nothing. Homework.”   
  
“Good,” Percy says. “Come over around six. I’d like to make you dinner.”   
  
“Oh,” Credence manages and clears his throat. “That’s… okay. Sure. That sounds nice.” He bites the inside of his cheek to try and stop his cheeks from flushing at how eager he sounds. “Thanks.”   
  
“You’re welcome,” Percy says, amused. “See you then, Credence.”   
  
“See you then,” Credence sighs and watches Percy park in his driveway. He gets into his car and waves as Percy does before he goes inside. He groans, thumping his head against the steering wheel and staying there for a while.   
  
When he does finally leave and begins the drive to school, he’s not at all surprised that the breakfast burrito is as good as it is and wonders where Percy got it.   
  
Credence supposes he has the opportunity to ask him.   
  
——   
  
He spends half the day trying to figure out something to tell his parents. He can’t tell them their late-thirties neighbor has taken an interest in him and wants to cook him dinner, because… well.   
  
Credence decides on texting his mother that his friends are picking him up for dinner at six and feels immensely guilty about it, but he’ll worry about that later.   
  
Percy had made it clear he’s not in this for the long run and if he has a sexual experience or two with him, well, no one will ever have to know. Credence suspects it won’t go on for a long time, Percy will find interest somewhere else and Credence doesn’t particularly want to be one of many.   
  
But if Percy doesn’t touch him soon, he thinks he may explode. He’s all he thinks about during class and at lunch with his friends, so much so that they tease him for the crush he has clearly developed on someone. He won’t tell them who, probably for the same reasons he won’t tell his parents, and is surprised that he likes the air of mystery around it.   
  
He gets home at five and showers and tries to pick out clothes that look nice. He’s been a creature of comfort since he came to live with his parents and the nicest clothes he has are  _ too _ nice, for weddings and such. Credence decides he’s thinking too much about it and wears what he usually does.   
  
His parents are watching television when he says goodbye to them and he prays they stay that way as he leaves the house and hurries across the street, his palms sweaty and his heart racing.    
  
He knocks on Percy’s door.   
  
Percy opens it not long after and smiles as he looks Credence up and down, not bothering to be subtle about it at all. “Hello, Credence,” he says and steps aside. “You have a good day?”   
  
Credence hurries in and sighs in relief. “Hi,” he says and smiles. “Yes, I did. You?”   
  
“Spent most of it asleep, but yes,” Percy chuckles and leads Credence down the foyer and toward a large living room and kitchen.   
  
It’s nice, but a lot darker than his parents’ home. Dark hardwood floors and furniture and the curtains on the windows are dark too. It’s a bit odd, he realizes, when he sees that all of the windows have black out curtains on them, but then he remembers Percy works the graveyard shift and probably doesn’t like the sun bothering him when he’s getting ready to sleep.   
  
But various lights are turned on, so it’s not as dark as it could be, and Credence decides he likes it. It’s warm and decidedly Percy, though he doesn’t know him all that well yet.   
  
“It smells good,” Credence says as he walks into the kitchen.   
  
“Just finished,” Percy says as he walks to the large gas oven. “I hope you like chicken.” He moves to the fridge and opens it, pulling out two beers and holding one out to Credence. “Sit at the table, if you want.”   
  
Credence takes the beer and moves to the table, his nerves still on fire. He sits down at the dining table, set for two, and takes a drink of his beer. He doesn’t feel the way he did when he was last around Percy so he thinks it must have been the truck or maybe some kind of fleeting wooziness.   
  
He watches Percy work in the kitchen and tries not to sigh dreamily. Credence can cook, he learned young, but he doesn’t do it often, since his mother likes to far more than him. But there’s something about a man that can cook that he likes. He has a feeling he’s going to like everything about Percy but he’ll have to keep that contained so it doesn’t grow into something more serious.   
  
Percy serves dinner. Chicken thighs that have been pan seared to perfection, in a creamy sauce with spinach and tomatoes and garlic, and roasted broccoli tossed with parmesan and Credence stares at it all, a little taken aback.   
  
“I like to cook,” Percy says, with amusement. “Like I said, I get bored easily. It’s either cooking or drinking. Figured this one was safer.”   
  
Credence laughs, a little uneasily. “It probably is,” he says and picks up his knife and fork. “This looks amazing. Thank you for inviting me.”   
  
“It’s my pleasure,” Percy says and sounds like he means it.   
  
After that, it’s a little easier. Percy asks about Credence’s school more, his goals, and about his family. He ends up telling him that he was adopted and doesn’t know why, but it still feels like he couldn’t lie to Percy if he tried. Percy isn’t pitying at all, the way some people are, only asks if Credence is happy where he is now and smiles when Credence tells him he is.   
  
Credence is more hesitant to ask about Percy, but he’s open and honest with Credence too. Tells him he’s lived all over the east coast, moving for his job, but he was born in New York and finds himself here more often than not. He doesn’t have any family and doesn’t seem bothered by that fact. He doesn’t seem to have many friends either, but Credence doesn’t really know, and he wonders how well he’ll get to know Percy over time.   
  
After dinner, which was the best meal Credence has had in a while, he helps Percy wash dishes. Percy gives him another beer and asks if he’d like to watch a movie and Credence agrees. He doesn’t expect Percy to pat the sofa next to him and his heart leaps again, which he’s getting a little tired of, but he sits next to Percy and is glad that they aren’t tiptoeing around each other.   
  
Percy drapes his arm over Credence’s shoulders and opens Netflix and they choose a  _ Die Hard _ movie, which makes Credence laugh, because it’s the perfect sort of movie for background noise.   
  
He’s feeling a little intoxicated again, but it’s still not the beer. Percy smells good, like aftershave and cologne, clean, but it’s a heady sort of smell anyway. He thinks he wouldn’t mind if he was covered in sweat or grease either, but maybe another time.   
  
“Credence,” Percy says, only a few minutes into the movie, “I think you know what I’m interested in.”   
  
Credence blushes and bites his lip as he glances at Percy, so close to him. “I think I do,” he says and smiles. “I think you know I’m interested in it too.”   
  
Percy looks at him and smiles. “I do,” he says easily. “I knew it before I met you even.”   
  
Credence blinks at him before he groans and puts his hand over his eyes. “I’m sorry for that,” he mutters. “Oh my God, that’s embarrassing.”   
  
“No, it’s not,” Percy says as he chuckles, the same low and husky way he had before. “It was flattering to know I had your interest before I had to work for it.”   
  
“Oh my God,” Credence mutters again as he looks at Percy and laughs. “That makes me want to make you work for it, you know.”   
  
Percy merely smirks. “How about,” he says, moving his hand down to Credence’s thigh, patting it, “I suck you off and you tell me if I’ve earned anymore than that.”   
  
Credence’s mouth falls open as he gapes at Percy. His cheeks must be flaming red and he’s annoyed at that too, but he laughs helplessly, as a surge of hot arousal moves through his blood. “Just gonna jump right into it?” he asks, a little high-pitched.   
  
“Oh, Credence,” Percy tsks with a grin. “If I asked you inside the night we met, you would have gladly come in.”   
  
“That’s… you don’t know that,” Credence says breathlessly. It’s true, of course, but he won’t admit it.   
  
“I do,” Percy says as he stands and moves in front of Credence, pushing the coffee table back and sinking onto his knees. “I could practically smell it on you.”   
  
Credence stares at him and is shocked at how hard he is already. “Fuck,” he whispers, moving his hands down to grip the sofa. “Umm…” He shakes himself, trying to clear his head a bit. “Do you have a condom?”   
  
Percy blinks and raises his eyebrows. “Upstairs, but I’m not particularly worried,” he says and moves his hands to Credence’s jeans, unbuttoning and unzipping them, like he’s done it a thousand times before.   
  
Probably has, Credence thinks a bit wildly as he tips his head back against the sofa, because he needs a moment of not looking at Percy. “It would be safer, wouldn’t it?” he asks, though he’s loath to see Percy go, if only for a moment.   
  
“I get the feeling you don’t sleep around,” Percy says as he spreads Credence’s knees more and presses his hand against his bulge, gently rubbing against it.   
  
Credence’s abdomen jumps and he hisses. “But you do,” he says, then flushes. “Shit. I don’t mean it as a bad thing, sorry.”   
  
Percy chuckles. “I don’t have anything bad to give you,” he says as he continues to palm Credence, until he groans. “Wet already, aren’t you?” He thumb brushes over the head of Credence’s cock through his jeans.   
  
“It’s been a while,” Credence says as he looks down at Percy, eyes half-lidded. “Fuck,” he whispers, because Percy is practically smouldering and the sight of him between his knees threatens to undo him a little early. “You are…” He finds he doesn’t know what Percy is, because he is everything all at once.   
  
“So are you,” Percy says with a smirk and moves his hands up, tugging at Credence’s jeans until he lifts his hips so Percy can pull them down to his ankles. He makes a noise of approval as he looks at the bulge in Credence’s boxers and the wet spot growing on them. “I’ve been wanting to taste you since I first saw you.”   
  
Credence bites his lip, hard, and his breath is unsteady already. He wants to say something, something encouraging, but he doesn’t quite have the courage to. He’s still amazed Percy has taken an interest in him at all.   
  
Percy merely smiles and tugs his boxers down to free Credence’s leaking cock. He wraps his hand around it and looks up at Credence, his eyes dark. “Beautiful,” he says quietly and leans in.   
  
The first touch of his lips is a gentle kiss to the underside before he licks his way up to the head and Credence moves his hand to his mouth, biting his knuckles. He jumps in surprise when Percy reaches up and grasps his wrist firmly, bringing his hand back down to the sofa. His eyes tell Credence that he’s to keep it there and his stomach tightens more, the thrill of it jolting straight to his cock.   
  
Percy takes him in then and Credence moans, broken and low. His mouth is almost cool, but it doesn’t take long with Credence’s heat in there to warm up. He watches Percy as he feels his tongue lick his precome away and dip into the slit, until Credence hisses. Then he begins to move and it’s not a slow, gentle thing.   
  
It’s almost too abrupt, almost makes him come, but Percy’s fingers dig into his thigh and he’s able to keep it in, though his moan is pitifully loud and desperate.   
  
His hands scrabble for the edge of the sofa cushions so he can hold on and he tips his head back when Percy’s hand twists along his cock in time with the movement of his head. His mouth is hot now, wet, and it’s the best fucking blowjob Credence has ever had.   
  
“Fuck,” he chokes out when he looks down again, because he has to watch. “Oh, fuck. Percy…” He gasps as Percy groans around him, his toes curling tightly. “I’m going to come if you keep going like that.”   
  
Percy lets him go, his lips wet and red and he’s so damn good looking like that that Credence groans. “That’s the idea, sweetheart,” Percy says with a smirk and takes him in again.   
  
Credence curls forward and finds his hand in Percy’s hair, not tugging at it, but gently gripping the soft strands. He lets out a shuddering breath and moan and Percy’s pace picks up then. His balls tighten and he grits his teeth.   
  
“Oh, shit,” he hisses. “I’m going to come!” When Percy only hums his approval, Credence gasps once, then moans as his orgasm crashes into him, and he thinks he may be pulling Percy’s hair, but Percy doesn’t stop him.   
  
He cries out as he fills Percy’s mouth with come, and the fact that Percy doesn’t move away only makes it all the more powerful, until he’s trembling, his muscles too tight.   
  
Credence groans as he finishes and collapses back against the sofa, gasping for air, looking up at the ceiling and feeling a little dumbfounded.   
  
Percy lets him go with a rather obscene pop and Credence puts his arm over his forehead as he dares a look down at him. He’s licking his lips like Credence’s come was a treat and Credence groans a bit helplessly. His hair is all mussed up and his mouth is shining with spit and he still commands the room, because when he looks into Credence’s eyes, he thinks he would do anything he asked of him, in that moment.   
  
“You alright?” Percy asks with a chuckle as he wipes his mouth off with the back of his hand.   
  
“You know I am,” Credence sighs, but he’s still trembling, and knows he’s never had an orgasm like that before. “Shit. That was… wow. Oh, don’t look so pleased with yourself.”   
  
Percy’s smirking at him and he laughs. “How can I not be, putting that look on your face? Pulling those sounds out of you?” he asks as he gently tucks Credence away in his boxers. “You’re stunning, Credence.”   
  
Credence’s cheeks are warm. “I don’t know about that,” he mutters and jumps when Percy leans down and bites his thigh. “Ow,” he laughs.  _ “Thank you, _ I mean.”   
  
“Better,” Percy says and stands. The bulge in his own jeans is obvious and Credence bites his lip as he looks at it, then up at Percy. “I would like it if you returned the favor,” he says, with a smile, “but the first time I come with you, I want it to be inside of you.”   
  
That makes Credence’s cock give a feeble little twitch and he laughs helplessly. “I don’t think I’d mind that so much,” he sighs. “Do you want to…?”   
  
“Not tonight,” Percy says. “I want you to go home tonight and imagine it first. I want you aching and begging for it when it’s time.”   
  
Credence isn’t sure how he’s going to handle this sort of talk. It’s turning him on and he sighs shakily. “I think I already am aching for it,” he mutters but he smiles. “You’re going to kill me.”   
  
Percy chuckles. “Maybe one day,” he says with a grin. “Just after you scream my name.”   
  
“Should be a good death then,” Credence says wryly and shakes his head. “Do you want me to go home?”   
  
“Of course not,” Percy says and leans down, pulling Credence’s jeans up enough so Credence can pull them on himself. “Stay and watch the movie. I have work after but I  _ do _ want to spend time with you.”   
  
Credence smiles, relieved in a way he won’t tell Percy. He thinks he might have felt a little used, despite the fact that he’s not looking for anything more than sex, if Percy had kicked him out. But Percy sits next to him again and moves his arm back around Credence, pulling him into his side.   
  
It’s comfortable and… good. Not what he expected when he saw the moving truck, certainly, but he thinks he can get used to this.   
  
——   
  
Credence doesn’t see Percy for a few days. They’ve exchanged numbers, but there isn’t a lot of texting. Credence doesn’t want to bother Percy, who is as busy as he himself is, he assumes.   
  
It makes it hard to get through the rest of the week and Saturday, because he  _ is _ aching for it. He’s aching for Percy, the way he’s never ached for anyone before. It must be the passion of it all - they’re both attracted to each other sexually, he has to keep it a secret which is exciting in a way he never thought it would be, because Percy is an older man. Credence doesn’t have to worry about falling in love or having someone fall in love with him.   
  
A steamy affair, one of the romance authors might describe it as.   
  
But Percy texts him, finally, on Saturday night.   
  
_ Come over tomorrow night, at 7. _   
  
Credence barely sleeps that night, too horny and too nervous, and Sunday seems to drag on for ages. His mother teases him for being moody and he blames it on school work, but he hides in his room and keeps his blinds closed, so he might not be tempted to stare at Percy’s house and torture himself even more.   
  
He’s told his parents he’s going out with friends and to expect him late, and they only tell him to have fun and make sure his ride home is not drinking.   
  
When Credence is sure they won’t see him cross the street, he leaves and hurries across it, looking around for any prying eyes, but there are none. At least that he can see. He thinks someone will see him one day, but that’s a problem for future-him.   
  
Credence knocks on Percy’s door and when he opens it, he wants to yell at him, for daring to be in another tank top. To hide his bare arms away, because they do something to Credence and he’s already pushed to his limit, in a constant state of arousal.   
  
“Hi,” is what Credence says and smiles as Percy steps aside to let him in.   
  
“Hey, sweetheart,” Percy says and there’s something husky in it, something raw and rough, that pools heat in Credence’s belly.   
  
Before Credence can ask how Percy’s been doing, he’s pressed up against the wall, bombarded by the smell of Percy’s cologne and him, the way he can recall them but so, so much stronger, and he gasps in both shock and arousal as Percy grabs his wrists and pins them above his head.   
  
He kisses him then and it’s as searing and ungentle as everything else about him is and Credence will drown in this, he knows. Might already be doing so.   
  
But he kisses back, tasting Percy, whiskey and something sharper, something he can’t quite pinpoint, but that’s familiar. It’s all tongue and teeth and when Percy bites his lower lip, Credence whines and squirms against the wall, because he wants to touch him.   
  
Percy doesn’t let his wrists go but he pulls back and his eyes are so, so dark as he looks at Credence. He smiles and moves his lips along Credence’s jaw and to his neck and Credence hears him breathe in deeply. He thinks Percy’s smell is intoxicating and hopes that Percy feels the same way.   
  
He kisses up and down along Credence’s neck and bites gently here and there, especially over his artery, where Credence is sure he feels his heart beating, as hard as it is pumping blood through him. He moves down further and bites harder and Credence feels a little dizzy.   
  
Percy likes biting him and Credence is finding that he likes to be bitten.   
  
“You want to go upstairs?” Percy asks as he moves his lips to Credence’s jaw again.   
  
“Not even going to get me dinner first?” Credence asks breathlessly.   
  
Percy chuckles as he pulls back and moves his hand to Credence’s jaw, gently holding it. “I’ll feed you after,” he says. “But you can’t come over here like this and expect me to wait.”   
  
“Like what?” Credence asks with a laugh. “Wearing jeans and a hoodie?”   
  
“It’s more than just the way you look,” Percy says as he gazes at Credence.   
  
Credence doesn’t quite know what he means but the look in Percy’s eyes is distracting. It’s almost unbearably intense but he looks back, because he won’t look away. Percy smiles, wider, and lets his wrists go before leading him to the stairs.   
  
His knees are wobbly and he’s painfully hard already and doesn’t think he’s going to come out of the bedroom the same man. Percy leads him inside and he glances around when Percy turns on a lamp by the bed.   
  
The windows have even thicker black-out curtains on them and the furniture is dark, almost black in this light. The bed is huge, with grey sheets and a dark comforter and he swallows, because it’s so fitting for Percy.   
  
“Get undressed,” Percy says as he looks at Credence. “On your knees. Please,” he adds with a smile, when Credence raises his eyebrows, opening the night stand.   
  
“Can I, umm…” Credence trails off and licks his lips. “Can I be on my back? Or, uhh, I’d prefer to leave my shirt on.”   
  
Percy pauses and glances back at Credence with a frown. He pulls out a condom and a bottle of lube, tossing them on the bed, approaching Credence and moving his hands to his shoulders.   
  
“If you’re more comfortable that way,” he says slowly. “I’m guessing it’s not an embarrassing tattoo you got on your twenty-first birthday.”   
  
Credence smiles wryly. “No,” he says. “But it’s unappealing all the same.”   
  
Percy shakes his head. “Nothing about you could possibly be unappealing,” he says. “Lay on your back then. I’ll take good care of you.”   
  
Credence knows it’s true. As commanding as Percy is, he’s considerate too, and Credence looks him over, in his jeans that hug his thighs and the tank top that shows off his muscled arms. He’s lucky, he thinks, that Percy took an interest in him, because he never would have been brave enough to approach him otherwise.   
  
He pulls his hoodie off and steps out of his jeans. Percy watches him and he looks so affected by Credence that he isn’t all that embarrassed when he pulls off his shirt. He’s lean, thin the way running has made him, something he’s always doubted might be attractive, but he doesn’t doubt it with Percy.   
  
Credence still backs to the bed after he takes his boxers off and lays down, arranging himself until he’s comfortable and puts his hands behind his head as he looks at Percy.   
  
Percy smirks and pulls off his tank top, sturdier and more solid, the faint lines of his abdomen and the adonis belt leading from his hips and past his jeans is enough of a turn on that it’s almost overwhelming.   
  
The rest of him fits, muscular thighs and calves, his cock thick and long, half-hard as he looks at Credence. He climbs into bed and between Credence’s knees, leaning down and kissing him, far more gentle than before.   
  
Credence wraps his arms around his neck as he kisses back, hooking his ankles behind Percy’s thighs, pulling a low groan out of him. His skin is cool, something he thinks is just part of Percy at this point, but it feels good against his own heated skin.   
  
Percy pulls away, moving down to Credence’s chest, kissing and nibbling as he goes and Credence tilts his head back, closing his eyes. They pop open again when he hears the lube cap open and bites his lip as he looks down at Percy, who is peering back at him.   
  
“Okay?”   
  
“Very.”   
  
Percy chuckles and squeezes some lube onto his fingers.   
  
The first touch is cold and Credence winces but as Percy gently teases him, it begins to warm up and Credence spreads his legs more invitingly. It’s been a while for him, he realizes, almost two years now, because his junior year had been a couple internships and he didn’t have the time or energy to meet anyone.   
  
He thinks for Percy it’s only been a week or so, since he saw the woman leave his house and the thought makes him uncomfortable.   
  
Percy’s fingers still and Credence realizes he’s closed his eyes when he looks up at him, his teeth digging into his lip. He blinks a little as Percy gazes at him with a frown.   
  
“Are you sure you’re okay?” Percy asks. “Because I’d rather you stay with me.”   
  
Credence blushes and shakes his head. “I’m with you. Sorry,” he says hastily. “I was just… well, it doesn’t matter. Keep going.”   
  
Percy raises an eyebrow and leans down again, pressing a soft kiss to Credence’s lips. “Tell me,” he says. He smirks when Credence wrinkles his nose. “Tell me and I’ll keep going.”   
  
“Ass,” Credence mutters and shakes his head as Percy chuckles. “I wasn’t spying on you, before you say it, but I had my window open last week. I saw someone leaving your place. I was just wondering if she was when you last…?”   
  
Percy kisses him again before sitting up. “I don’t have women in my bed. Thought we already established that,” he says with a smile. “She’s a friend of mine. Lifelong friend, actually. The last time I fucked anyone was about a month ago.”   
  
Credence groans and rests his arm on his forehead. “That doesn’t make me feel much better.”   
  
“I didn’t even live here a month ago,” Percy says with a low chuckle. “I’m not riddled with disease, you know.”   
  
“I didn’t say you were,” Credence says as he laughs. “I’m only wondering when you’re going to get bored with me.”   
  
Percy huffs and resumes what he was doing. “You keep coming over here and I’m not getting bored any time soon,” he says. “Maybe when you go off and live on your own I’ll get bored, but I’ll fuck you every day until then if you ask.”   
  
Credence laughs again, shaking his head. “That’s a lot of fucking,” he says before he hisses as Percy slides a finger into him. “Unfair.”   
  
“Stop worrying,” Percy says as he smiles at Credence. “And let me do this so I can fuck you as hard as I plan on doing.”   
  
That brings back Credence’s arousal without any issues and he bites his lip, moving his hands down to gently fist at Percy’s sheets. “I like the sound of that,” he says and inhales sharply when Percy curls his finger.   
  
There’s less talking after that. Credence’s breath hitches whenever Percy curls his finger like that and he moans as he adds another finger and thrusts them into him until his cock is leaking against his belly.   
  
When he’s got three fingers in a while later and Credence is sweating and cursing with the effort to not touch himself and end it there, Percy laughs and pulls them out.   
  
He puts the condom on before slicking himself with lube and presses against Credence, looking up at him as he does.   
  
Credence nods and reaches up, grasping Percy’s shoulders as he gently pushes in. He winces a bit, the sting back after not doing this for so long, but it goes away surprisingly quickly. He lets out a shaky breath as Percy sinks in deeper, until he’s pressed flush against him.   
  
Percy’s eyes are half-lidded and he moves his hand up, brushing Credence’s hair off of his forehead. “Beautiful,” he whispers and leans in, kissing Credence as he begins to rock into him.   
  
If he was honest with himself, Credence had thought it would hurt more, despite the time and care Percy had taken. But it doesn’t hurt at all. It’s electric, the pleasure he feels, on the surface of his skin and hot in his stomach and he moans with need.   
  
Percy moves down his neck and Credence feels his lips, tongue and teeth against the sensitive skin there. He runs his own fingers through Percy’s hair, his other arm across his back, dragging his nails against his skin.   
  
That seems like something Percy likes, because he gives an unexpectedly harsh snap of his hips that has Credence crying out, throwing his head back against the pillow.   
  
“Fuck,” he gasps. “Like that, Percy, please…!”   
  
Percy groans and lifts his head, grabbing Credence’s hand tangled in his hair. He pushes it up toward the headboard until Credence gets the idea and braces himself against it.   
  
And Percy fucks him exactly as he said he would, hard and fast, angling himself just right inside of Credence. Credence merely tries to hold on, but they’re both slick with sweat, the bedroom hot from no open windows or air conditioning.   
  
It’s good. Better than Credence has ever had. He shouts his pleasure and Percy’s name both, which draws a satisfied grunt from him each time. If he’s not sucking bruises on Credence’s neck, he’s looking down at him.   
  
Credence looks back, though he finds it almost overwhelming, because Percy is so intense. But he’s getting desperate, his cock so hard it’s almost painful and he begs then, begs Percy to let him come.   
  
“Please,” he gasps. “Please, I have to—”   
  
“Touch yourself,” Percy says, his voice rough, as he sits up some, balancing his weight on one hand and putting the other behind Credence’s knee to bend it back further.   
  
The new position is even better, dirtier, Credence thinks wildly, and he reaches down and wraps his hand around his cock as Percy continues mercilessly thrusting.   
  
“Credence,” Percy says, low and demanding and so husky, broken from his movements, “come.”   
  
Credence cries out as his balls tighten and he comes to that command, so strongly that he gasps and holds his breath, feeling the warmth of his come falling over his stomach and dribbling over his hand.   
  
He gasps for air when he’s finishing and his body begins to tremble the way it had before, but he reaches up with his clean hand and holds onto Percy’s arm as he continues to fuck him, a high, wrung out moan escaping him with each thrust.   
  
Percy’s eyes are dark with satisfaction and pleasure and he only thrusts a few more times before he buries himself deep and comes, his own arms shaking through it, with a long groan.   
  
Credence lets his arm fall back to the bed and stares up at the ceiling as he breathes deeply, feeling sweat on his forehead, under his legs and on Percy’s lower back. He looks at Percy, who is gazing back at him, breathing just as heavily.   
  
“Fuck,” Credence says and grins when Percy laughs.   
  
“Fuck,” he agrees and leans down to kiss Credence once, before he pulls away. He gently lowers Credence’s legs and pulls out of him, slowly, but it doesn’t sting.   
  
Credence feels like he’s been fucked very thoroughly but there is still no pain. He decides that’s a good thing and stretches out languidly as he watches Percy get up and tie the condom off, tossing it in a trash can.   
  
He’s ridiculously hot in everything he does, but something about him shining with sweat, his hair all messy, and, well, being naked, is an entirely different matter.   
  
Percy goes into his bathroom and Credence hears the shower turn on a moment later. He smiles a little and looks down at the mess drying on his stomach and hands, grimacing.   
  
“You going to join me?” Percy calls.   
  
Credence huffs and stands off the bed, wobbling and catching himself, immensely grateful Percy is not looking. He sighs and walks into the bathroom, feeling every bit of what Percy did to him, in the best of ways. He suspects he’s going to be feeling it for a day or two.   
  
Percy’s bathroom is as nice as the rest of the house is, with a large shower, and Credence looks him over as he stands outside of it, waiting for the water to get warm.   
  
His stomach loops then, because Percy will see what he didn’t want him to, unless he makes their shower awkward. It’s an old, familiar fear and he doesn’t come closer, debating what to do.   
  
Percy glances at him and there’s concern in his gaze before he even looks at Credence properly. “We can take separate showers,” he says. “But I told you. There’s nothing about you that’s unappealing to me.”   
  
Credence wrinkles his nose. “It’s still unappealing to me,” he mutters.    
  
But, he decides, if they’re going to be at this for a while, eventually he’ll see, anyway. “Sorry. Only two people have seen beyond my parents,” he says as he walks forward and slips into the shower, which is steaming with heat, and steps under the water, so he can hide his discomfort under the spray.   
  
Percy’s hands brush over his shoulders but they don’t move down over his back. He merely leans in, kissing Credence’s shoulder and the nape of his neck a few times. “Who?” he asks quietly, after Credence has shifted from the spray.   
  
Credence sighs, gently. “The first woman that adopted me,” he says quietly. “Devout Christian and I was a very sinful boy.”   
  
Percy kisses his neck again. “How old were you?”   
  
“She started when I was nine. Went on for two years before a teacher noticed,” Credence says. “I got put back in foster care for almost a year and my parents adopted me not long after that.”   
  
Percy’s hands move to his chest, over his heart and he rests his chin on Credence’s shoulder. Credence smiles, thinks he almost likes that as much as the sex, and tips his head back against him.   
  
“I could track her down, you know,” Percy says.   
  
Credence chuckles. “Put her in the ground for me?”   
  
“My job deals in protection after all.”   
  
Credence smiles and turns around, looping his arms around Percy’s neck. “She spent eleven years in prison. Just got out, actually, I was told a couple months ago. That’s enough for me,” he says. “But I appreciate the offer.”   
  
Percy smiles and kisses Credence gently. “If you’re ever particularly lusting for vengeance, the offer will stand,” he says and smirks as Credence grins. “You’re beautiful, Credence. All of you.”   
  
“Thank you,” Credence mumbles, his cheeks warm, but he finds he can’t quite stop smiling. “Do you have to go to work?”   
  
“Night off,” Percy says. “Stay as long as you’d like.”   
  
“Good,” Credence says and kisses him.   
  
——   
  
It goes on like this for a few weeks.   
  
Credence sneaks over to Percy’s after the sun has gone down and they, for the most part, blow each other’s minds. But sometimes there’s dinner involved, and Netflix, and talking for a few hours about anything and everything.   
  
He doesn’t think he’s ever felt so satisfied before. His friends accuse him of having a spring in his step lately and he doesn’t deny it. Doesn’t deny he’s met someone, though he won’t give them any details. He probably won’t tell anyone unless he makes a mistake or Percy and him go their separate ways.   
  
But going their separate ways doesn’t appeal to him as much as he thought it might have, in those first few days. He finds himself hoping that it will last all the way through the end of his next year. A little longer, maybe, while he’s earning money to move out of his parents’ home. He tries not to imagine after that. Inviting Percy to his place, having dinner with him there, fucking each other in his own bed.   
  
So Credence will take what he gets right now.   
  
After a particularly good night with Percy, Credence’s friends text him in the morning and ask if he wants to go to the bar after school. They’re coming up on their final exams and they’re busy, immensely so, but Credence is losing sleep to keep up with everything so he can still see Percy.   
  
But he decides that one night out won’t hurt and Percy only tells him to have fun, when he texts him in the evening.   
  
He does have fun, though he only has one drink early in the evening, because he’s driving. They’re out for hours, talking about their journey through NYU, their internships and their professors. It’s loud and full of laughter, and he reminds himself that he still needs this. He needs his friends, their love and their humor, and promises himself he will give up a few nights with Percy here and there to enjoy this.   
  
When it gets past midnight, he makes sure that everyone will be getting home safely and is glad no one asks him for a ride, because he’s tired and eager for his bed.   
  
Credence drives through Manhattan, on the way to the interstate to Jericho, and he’s stopped at a red light when he sees him.   
  
It’s Percy.   
  
Credence stares at him in shock, because Percy should be working, not here in Manhattan, but there he is, walking past a line of people waiting to get into one of those ritzy nightclubs.   
  
And Credence’s heart sinks, because Percy is holding the hand of a woman who is blonde and beautiful, slender and tall in her red high heels and golden dress. He watches as Percy approaches the bouncer at the front of the line, who lets him in with a nod, and he watches him disappear inside.   
  
Credence jumps when the car behind him honks and drives. He’s hurt, so immensely and suddenly, and grips the steering wheel tightly in his hands.   
  
He’s hurt, yes, but most of all, he’s incredibly ticked off. He had made it clear to Percy if he ever decided to move on that he was to tell Credence, so he didn’t have to worry about STDs. Has he been sleeping around this entire time?   
  
Credence has made a circle before he knows it, finding a place to park, a spot opening rather miraculously close to the nightclub. He gets out and yanks his hoodie on and approaches the line of people. He stops then, because what can he do?   
  
What can he honestly do?   
  
Percy is sleeping around and seeing other people and Credence is done with him. What’s the point of confronting him? Pissing him off or embarrassing him in front of that woman? And Percy must have been lying about that too, only liking men.   
  
It pisses Credence off more then, the depth of his lies, and he finds himself storming past the line and up to the bouncer anyway.   
  
Of course all his courage abandons him, because he has no money to give him - at least not the amount he thinks he’d probably need - and he’s just a student from NYU, not a celebrity or regular, like Percy apparently is.   
  
But the bouncer looks at him for a moment before he nods and opens the door, letting Credence in and Credence moves forward woodenly, because he hasn’t got any idea how in the world that worked.   
  
It’s loud, much louder than the bar was, and Credence grimaces as he walks further inside. He sees that the club is sunken below, down a flight of stairs, and there are so many people dancing on the floor, colorful lights flashing over them, that he feels dizzy.   
  
It’s the last place he would expect Percy to go to. It actually seems like a place he would hate and Credence wonders how much of everything had been a lie. He stands at the top of the stairs and squints down around the corners, where people are sitting and drinking, and his heart leaps, when he sees the woman in gold at the bar. She takes two champagne glasses and Credence is hurrying down the stairs before he can stop himself.   
  
It stinks of alcohol and body sweat and some people look at him, curiously, as he passes, and he supposes he’s not as glamorously dressed as them. It makes him wonder what the bouncer was thinking again but he follows the woman, who is just tall enough to see past the crowd of people.   
  
She walks into a hallway and when Credence catches up, he sees a door at the end of it closing. It reads  _ private rooms _ and Credence’s stomach churns and he thinks he should turn back. He’s come too far already, knows what the truth is, and he thinks seeing it will only make him feel more sick.   
  
He leans against the wall for a while, holding his head in his hands, breathing in, the beat of the music making his brain throb unpleasantly. It’s so out of character that it frustrates him all over again.   
  
Credence grits his teeth and pushes away from the wall, moving to the door and pushing it open. The hall goes left and right, dimly lit and painted dark, but it’s much quieter here. The private rooms aren’t exactly private, he notices, when he turns left and begins to walk down along the hall. They’re covered with sheer curtains and he can see through them, at the couples or… more than couples, laughing and talking or engaged in various other activities.   
  
But there’s something that’s strange about it all. There’s no moaning or other noises that sound like sex, though some people certainly sound content. It’s bizarre and the hairs on the back of his neck stand on end as he reaches the last private room at the end of the hall.   
  
The blonde woman he sees first, sitting in a large, round booth that looks comfortable, her head tilted back against it and her eyes closed, one of the glasses of champagne in her hand.   
  
And there’s Percy.   
  
But he’s got his mouth on her arm and Credence grimaces, about to turn away and flee, because Percy kisses along his arm like that too. But he pauses, because Percy isn’t moving his mouth, which is open wider and his eyes are closed almost blissfully.   
  
That’s when Credence sees the blood. It’s at the corner of Percy’s mouth and a line of it steadily drips down his chin, as the blonde woman hums, the way someone might if you were giving them a foot massage.   
  
Bizarre just got fucking weird.   
  
Credence nearly gasps as he staggers back and he’s about to turn away when Percy’s eyes suddenly open and look straight at him. He does gasp and turns, hurrying down the hall.   
  
He doesn’t even hear Percy, but he feels him, knows it’s him, when a hand clamps down over his mouth and a broad chest is pressed against his back. He yelps and tries to fight Percy off, but he doesn’t even budge.   
  
“Shh, shh,” Percy whispers in his ear. “It’s okay, Credence.”   
  
Credence smells the blood then, sharp and metallic and it makes him gag. He bites Percy’s hand but Percy only huffs and slides it down to his chest, still holding Credence tightly to him.   
  
“Let me go,” Credence says firmly, his entire body trembling, because  _ what the fuck. _   
  
“No.”   
  
“Percy, let me fucking go.”   
  
“Not until you hear me out.”   
  
“Hear you out?!” Credence barks. “Why the fuck— I don’t care what you have to say! You’ve been lying to me and you’re… you’re into some weird stuff, okay, and I should never have come in here and—”   
  
“If we’re done for the night,” a woman’s voice says, lovely and husky but dry, “can you heal these for me?”   
  
Percy sighs against Credence’s ear but he doesn’t let him go, merely twists him around so he’s facing the other way and ignores it when Credence kicks his shin.   
  
The woman he’d been drinking blood from is looking between them, amused. “Still the going rate, Percival,” she says sweetly and holds out her arm.   
  
Credence is rather horrified to see the blood on it from two perfect puncture wounds. Percy fumbles around for a moment before he produces a couple hundred dollar bills and hands them to her.   
  
“Oh my God,” Credence groans.   
  
He’s not just seeing other people, he’s seeing prostitutes.   
  
But Percy’s hand moves over her arm, his thumb brushing over the puncture wounds, and when he pulls away, they aren’t there anymore. She smiles and winks at Credence as he stares, dumbfounded, at her, before she walks off.   
  
“What the fuck,” Credence mutters. “Percy, if you don’t _ let me go—” _ He yelps as he stumbles forward, when Percy lets him go. He whirls around to glare at him, maybe kick him in the balls, but the way Percy’s looking at him makes him freeze up.   
  
Percy’s stare is icy, cold and hard, and there’s such a bizarre reflection to his eyes, from the low light, Credence thinks, that his heart skips a beat. The blood on his mouth makes it more disturbing.   
  
“You’re going to hear me out,” Percy says firmly. “Go back down to that room.”   
  
Credence is ready to tell him to go fuck himself, but there’s something in his tone, something that makes him feel like he can’t disobey. He’s a little angry about that but he feels like he can’t help it when he turns around and walks back down to the booth. He shoves the curtain aside and slides onto the seat.   
  
There’s a low, round table to fit the booth, and he looks at the glasses of champagne, one half empty with red lipstick on it, and another one full, untouched.   
  
Percy comes into the booth and pulls out a handkerchief from his pocket, wiping the blood away as he sits down on the other end of the booth. He uses spit to get the dried parts off and tosses the handkerchief on the table before he pierces Credence with his stare.   
  
“Were you following me?” he asks quietly.   
  
“No!” Credence snaps angrily. “I was leaving the bar a few blocks from here after I finished hanging out with my friends and I was driving by this place when I saw you with her outside of it. You’re a fucking liar, Percy, everything you’ve told me has been a lie.”   
  
“It really hasn’t,” Percy sighs and looks more like himself finally. He rests his arm over the top of the booth as he stares at Credence. “There’s not much I’ve told you that isn’t true.”   
  
Credence laughs mockingly. “Oh, just the fact that you’re not seeing anyone else. Or that you only like men. Or that you’re supposed to be at work. Or that you weren’t going to get bored of me and sleep around.  _ Or _ that you see prostitutes so you can… you can  _ drink their fucking blood _ and fuck them!”   
  
Percy raises his eyebrows when Credence finishes, breathing heavily. “You done?” he asks and smirks a little, as Credence shoots him a scathing glare. “First of all, I’m not seeing anyone else. Only you. I do only like men. I was at work and I planned on going back to work after this. It’s my lunch break.” He shrugs as Credence only scowls all the more. “I’m not bored of you or sleeping around. And Vivienne is not a prostitute.”   
  
“But that— you just paid her  _ the going rate,” _ Credence hisses. “Please don’t lie to me, I’ve seen everything already!”   
  
“And taken it all the wrong way,” Percy says. He hums. “I pay her to let me drink her blood. Not anything else. I chose her because she’s got sweet blood and doesn’t ask me endless questions.”   
  
Credence feels queasy. “Percy, this is way beyond anything I’m into,” he says. “And I didn’t sign up for blood drinking at nightclubs and not being told about it.”   
  
Percy chuckles. “No, you didn’t,” he agrees. “But I have to, Credence, to survive.”   
  
“What, are you a vampire?” Credence asks flatly.   
  
Percy merely gazes at him with a small smile. “You saw that I healed her arm.”   
  
Credence has been hoping that had been a trick of the light. His heart speeds up and there’s fear in it, as sweat coats his palms and his forehead. “I’m not sure what I saw,” he says feebly.   
  
“You know exactly what you saw,” Percy says and slides closer. Credence wants to move away, but he finds himself pinned by Percy’s stare. “The only thing I’ve lied about is what I do on my lunch breaks and the fact that I am what I am.”   
  
“You expect me to believe you’re a vampire?” Credence asks as he gapes at him. “That this isn’t some weird kink?”   
  
Percy smiles. “You already know the truth, Credence,” he says and moves his hand up, grasping Credence’s jaw when he looks away, forcing him to look at him again. “I can smell it on you. You know what I am.”   
  
Credence jerks away from him and crosses his arms, uncomfortable and feeling a little helpless. “Vampires aren’t real,” he says anyway, because maybe if he says it, he’ll wake up and this will have been a bad dream.   
  
“We are very real,” Percy says and moves closer, his hand on Credence’s thigh. “I’m not going to hurt you, Credence.”   
  
“How can I know that?” Credence asks mulishly. “How can I know you wouldn’t attack me one day, kill me?”   
  
“I’m not a savage,” Percy says with a frown. “I’d only ever really bite you if you wanted me to. Killing you is the last thing on my mind. I told you, I’d be happy to spend time with you and sleep with you until you move away.”   
  
Credence shakes his head. “Well, you can kiss that goodbye,” he says. “I don’t want to be involved with this. With you. Not anymore.”   
  
“You’re a bad liar, Credence,” Percy says with a smirk.   
  
“Stop fucking smelling me,” Credence snaps. “I’m serious. Even if you— even if you  _ are _ a vampire, I’m not about to stick with you, knowing you come to this sort of place and drink blood from a lady that you pay to do so.”   
  
Percy shrugs. “I could take it from you.”   
  
Credence gapes at him, his heart jumping, in fear and in something else. Percy’s smile widens and Credence hates him a little then, because he’s always been amazed at how well Percy can read him.   
  
Now he knows why.   
  
“I’m not letting you bite me and drink my blood,” Credence says, high-pitched. “You’re out of your mind if you think I’d let you.”   
  
“I only need so much to get me through a few days,” Percy says and sighs as he looks at Credence’s neck. “You have no idea how much I’ve wanted to taste you. You’re sweeter than all of them, Credence.” He looks him in the eye again. “It wouldn’t harm you.”   
  
“Except scaring the hell out of me,” Credence says, his heart racing. He reaches up and brushes away some sweat on his forehead. He feels wired and restless, like he could run ten miles and not get tired. “I can’t be a part of this, Percy.”   
  
“It only has to be me and you, sweetheart, if you want it to be,” Percy says. “Not a lot would change.”   
  
“Except I’d know you’re a vampire and I’d have to let you drink my blood!”   
  
“You might just enjoy it.”   
  
“I definitely wouldn’t,” Credence says firmly, but that doesn’t calm his heart down any.   
  
Percy merely smiles. “If you say so,” he says. “If you want to call it quits, I understand. This isn’t how I wanted you to find out about this.”   
  
“Oh? Were you going to sit me down and tell me one day?”   
  
“Yes,” Percy says. “Because I want your blood. I hoped you might have given it to me willingly.”   
  
Credence shakes his head. “No,” he says. “And I am done. Thanks for… you know, showing an interest in me, and I did have a good time, but… I can’t do this. I just can’t.”   
  
Percy sighs, gently. “Alright, Credence,” he says quietly. “Are you going to be okay getting home?”   
  
“Yes,” Credence says and eagerly slides out of the booth. Percy gets out with him, though he’d prefer if he had stayed. “You don’t need to walk me out.”   
  
“This club is filled with vampires and the blood in your veins hasn’t been touched which makes you interesting. Yes I do,” Percy says, his tone harder now, with an edge to it, that Credence knows he shouldn’t argue with.   
  
It scares him, anyway, the idea of numerous vampires eyeing him like he’s a piece of meat.   
  
“Did the bouncer let me in because he thought I was a vampire?”   
  
“No,” Percy says as they walk down the hall. “He smelled me on you and I’m well known around the city so I don’t have to worry about getting in. He thought you were with me.”   
  
“He’s a vampire?” Credence asks feebly.   
  
“Yes,” Percy says, some amusement back in his voice.   
  
Percy leads him through the loud club, the music even harsher now, the atmosphere suffocating. They walk up the stairs and Credence hurries out of the club, breathing in the fresh, cool air. He lets out a sigh of relief, running his hands through his hair, and looks at Percy.   
  
Percy is looking back at him, but he’s not readable, the way he normally is. “Drive safe,” is all he says.   
  
“I will,” Credence mutters and turns away. He walks down the sidewalk, wrapping his arms around himself, and goes to his car. He gets in and starts it with a trembling hand, cursing Percy Graves with all he has.   
  
When he drives by the club, Percy is where he left him, and Credence sees his eyes on him as he drives by. Feels branded by his stare. He’s still under Credence’s skin, but he thinks that will eventually ease in time.   
  
It’s a damn shame he lives right across the street, but Credence supposes he’ll have to learn to live with it.   
  
——   
  
Credence keeps the blinds closed and desperately wishes he could forget what he saw, what he knows, over the next few weeks.   
  
He throws himself into studying and preparing for his exams, but he’s a little frightened that school is about to end, because it means being at home all day, when he’s not out with his friends or parents. He’ll be getting an idea together for his thesis for his Master’s but that certainly won’t take all summer.   
  
At least it’ll be hot, so he doesn’t have to worry about opening his window and seeing Percy.   
  
And he doesn’t see him. Percy sleeps during the day, as far as he knows, and the times Credence leaves home after dark, he’s not outside working on his truck or doing anything else. He’s staying away and Credence is… glad for it.   
  
But it doesn’t mean he doesn’t feel Percy. He feels him burning in his blood, he feels his touch, he can taste him still, hear him still, and he wishes he couldn’t. The dreams don’t help, more insistent and demanding, never giving him a night of peace, and he’s tempted to go to Percy and yell at him to knock it off, because he wants to believe it’s some trick he’s pulling and not his own brain betraying him.   
  
His brain  _ is _ betraying him. Credence misses Percy in a way he hadn’t been expecting. It’s an intense feeling, right in the middle of his chest, and he gets so frustrated with it sometimes that tears burn at his eyes. He runs on those days, runs more than he has in a long time, sweating out his anger.   
  
He can’t sweat out anything else though. His parents have noticed and his mother keeps asking what’s wrong, but he can’t tell her. He brushes it off as stress from the end of his senior year and they believe him well enough, he thinks.   
  
When it all gets to be a little much, Credence thinks about the nightclub and the blonde woman and Percy’s mouth on her arm and remembers why he called it off to begin with.   
  
Of course, he can’t control everything, and a week before his exams are about to start, on a Sunday morning, he gets an unpleasant surprise.   
  
Credence walks downstairs and says good morning to his mother. He gets a pot of coffee going, because one cup isn’t doing it lately, and pulls out a box of cereal when he hears voices out in the backyard.   
  
“Who’s Dad roped into talking about that old rust bucket now?” Credence asks.   
  
Mom laughs. “The only one around who seems to know how to work on vehicles, to your father’s delight,” she says and Credence feels his stomach tighten. “Percy’s over giving him some advice.”   
  
Credence looks at her, gaping, his heart pounding in his ears. He sets the cereal box down and is hurrying outside before he can think about it. The idea of his dad alone with a vampire is one thing, but the idea of his dad alone with the man who had been so thoroughly screwing Credence’s brains out for nearly a month is even worse.   
  
He barely gets the door closed behind him and almost crashes into a lounge chair on the patio before he rounds the corner, where Dad has a metal canopy over the side yard, where someone might put an RV, but he’s got an old 1951 Studebaker that he’s been planning on restoring for ten years now.   
  
Dad and Percy look at him as Credence straightens himself out. Percy looks faintly amused and he wants to smack it off his face, but his dad grins.   
  
“Credence, I think I might have finally found someone who appreciates her as much as I do,” he says delightedly.   
  
Credence wants to groan. “Oh,” he manages. “Uhh… good. You’re not going to restore it, are you?”   
  
“Now that I have some help, I think I just might. Maybe stop bothering you and your mother every time I talk about her,” Dad says with a chuckle.   
  
“That’s definitely not true,” Percy says as he looks into the engine. “She’s all you’ll be talking about.”   
  
Dad laughs and then frowns. “Actually, you’re probably right,” he says and shrugs. “Let me get you a copy of how I want to see her and the list of parts. Some I haven’t been able to find that weren’t ludicrously expensive, on top of shipping.”   
  
Credence watches him leave with some despair and looks at Percy, who is still bent over the engine and scowls.   
  
“Your dad invited me over,” Percy says mildly. “I was getting my mail.”   
  
“Why aren’t you melting?” Credence asks moodily as he moves closer and leans against the car.   
  
Percy looks up at him with a smirk. “The movies only have a few things right,” he says and stands straight, crossing his arms as he looks Credence up and down.   
  
“Stop it,” Credence says with irritation. “Do they have a stake through the heart right?”   
  
“Maybe,” Percy says with a shrug. “You plan on driving one through mine?”   
  
“I should,” Credence says. “None of us need a vampire in the neighborhood.”   
  
Percy tsks. “I think you enjoyed your time with me plenty,” he says and smiles as Credence glares.   
  
Credence wants to deny it, but there’s no point. He’d obviously enjoyed it very, very much. He squints at Percy before he frowns when he sees the dark circles under his eyes. He normally looks rested and relaxed, but he looks tired right now and it’s such an odd thing to think about, a vampire being tired.   
  
“What’s wrong with you?”   
  
Percy raises an eyebrow. “Are you asking about something in particular or do you mean in general?”   
  
“I know what’s wrong with you in general,” Credence says but Percy only smiles again. “Why do you look so bad?”   
  
Percy laughs now. “I’m glad you think I do,” he says and shakes his head. “I don’t look bad. I never look bad.”   
  
“You look like you haven’t slept in a week and you don’t even need to sleep.”   
  
“It’s nice to sleep, you know,” Percy says. “That’s why I do it.”   
  
“Yeah, but you shouldn’t look tired if you don’t  _ need _ to.”   
  
Percy moves closer then and Credence's heart leaps in a way that makes him blush, but Percy doesn’t tease him. He brackets his arms on the car around Credence, leaning closer, and Credence wants to push him away, tell him to go fuck himself, but his belly is tight with excitement and he doesn’t bother hiding it because he can’t. It’s extremely frustrating.   
  
“I look tired,” Percy says, voice pitched low, “because you ruined the fucking club for me.”   
  
Credence blinks at him as he gapes. Percy sounds a little annoyed, but also a lot amused. “I did… what do you mean?” he asks. “My parents are going to see.”   
  
“Your dad is upstairs and your mom is out front talking to Larry,” Percy says, which is unnerving, that he can know that. “What I mean, Credence, is you soured me to going there and getting what I need.”   
  
“You mean that you haven’t been eating well?” Credence asks, his voice a little high-pitched.   
  
Percy laughs, but it’s a different sort of laugh, one that makes Credence’s head spin. “That’s exactly right,” he says. “I told you, I need it to survive.”   
  
“What, are you going to starve yourself to death to prove a point to me?”   
  
Percy’s hand moves to Credence’s neck, cupping the nape of it. “I’ll get some soon,” he says. “I’ve only been debating where to get it from. I have options.”   
  
That puts a bit of fear in Credence. “Attacking people in the streets of Manhattan?”   
  
“I could,” Percy says and smiles as Credence’s heart pounds even harder. “But I don’t prefer that way. A donor I get to choose is easiest. I’ll have to find another one I like.”   
  
Credence stares at him, not sure he’s ever been as mixed up as he is now. He’s aroused and terrified and he kind of wants to kiss Percy and also kind of wants to knee him in the balls.   
  
Percy must smell it on him because he chuckles and pulls away, moving back around to the engine. “No one will ever be as sweet as you, Credence.”   
  
He doesn’t really know what to say to that. He breathes in deeply and rubs his hands over his face. “You’ve never even tasted me,” Credence says as he looks at Percy.   
  
“No,” Percy agrees. “But I’ve gotten plenty used to the way your blood smells. The people I know might admire me even more than they already do, if I had you on my arm.”   
  
Credence shakes his head. “You’re an arrogant asshole,” he says, but there’s no real heat behind it, and Percy smiles. “Well, good luck finding a donor as sweet as me. I hope you never do and suffer it.”   
  
“Don’t worry, sweetheart, I will,” Percy says as he looks at Credence. “But don’t think that I don’t know you’re suffering too. I don’t have to smell it on you to see it.”   
  
That makes him blush, but it’s more in anger than in embarrassment. “Don’t make it a habit of coming over here,” he mutters. “I don’t want to see you.”   
  
“No one said you had to come outside,” Percy says dryly. “You’re still a bad liar, Credence.”   
  
Credence scowls and pushes himself away from the car, walking back around the corner of the house and to the backdoor. He steps inside and only just refrains from slamming it closed, because Dad is coming down the stairs. He holds up a thumb drive victoriously to Credence and Credence manages to smile at him before he’s off to rejoin Percy.   
  
Cereal has been ruined for him, so he puts the box away and only pours himself coffee, thinking he might need to make two pots.   
  
It doesn’t escape him that they’re ruining meals for each other and it might make him laugh any other time, if Percy wasn’t the goddamn undead.   
  
——   
  
Credence manages to get through his exams and actually do well on them, despite being so distracted.   
  
It’s even worse now, the burn under his skin, his dreams, and if he had the confidence to try to pick someone up from a bar or ask his friends to hook him up with someone, he’d do it. It’s not all sexual frustration, but maybe it’d ease the rest of it too.   
  
But his parents take him to dinner to celebrate after his last exam, along with his friends, and it’s a good time. Something he’s needed. A few hours of reprieve that he’s not being haunted by Percy.   
  
He misses him even more now. Percy might be an ass occasionally, but he’s also soft, gentle and considerate. He never pushed Credence into doing something he didn’t want to do. He took care of him, in bed and out of it, in the sweetest of ways, and never did Credence suspect there was anything more to him than that.   
  
Credence doesn’t know if it was all a lie, if Percy really is just a dangerous man, or if that was him. The real him, besides the vampire part.   
  
His parents surprise him that night, telling him that they want to take him to Yellowstone, somewhere he’s always wanted to go. It’s hard for him to accept a vacation meant just for him, but they tell him they’re immensely proud of him and want to show him it, so he caves and accepts it.   
  
They want to leave in just a couple weeks, while the weather is still nice, and Credence thinks it’s coming at a perfect time. An escape into nature, one of his favorite places to be, seeing geysers and bison and wolves, surrounded by forests and plains.   
  
He’s especially eager to go, whenever Dad disappears outside and he knows he’s out there with Percy, who he doesn’t think is doing it to torture him, but it’s torturing him all the same. Dad doesn’t have any idea and Percy is polite enough to his neighbors that he probably doesn’t want to be rude and cause a rift but Credence still feels like screaming whenever he knows he’s right outside.   
  
The day before they’re due to go to the airport, Credence wakes up at four in the morning and glares at his ceiling for a while. He’s restless, excited to go but also anxious about the flight and everything that comes with airports, and some part of him, the part he’s constantly cursing at, is going to miss Percy even more.   
  
It was supposed to get easier, he thinks, not harder. He’s not even seeing the man anymore and he’s still driving Credence up the wall.   
  
Credence gets up and pulls on his running clothes and shoes and walks quietly out of the house. Thankfully Percy’s truck is gone and Credence stretches a little before he puts his AirPods in and starts his run.   
  
The burn in his lungs is good and it’s not hot out yet, the sun won’t even be up for another half hour or so, and Credence feels himself steadily calming down.   
  
The neighborhood is large and winding and he manages to get a few miles in before turning and going back the other way, admiring the sunrise as he watches it, and for once he isn’t thinking about vampires.   
  
When he rounds the corner onto his street, it’s bathed in golden and violet light, a balm to his soul and he slows his jog.   
  
Of course, that is when a familiar black truck turns the corner ahead and everything that is Credence’s current life comes flooding back. He groans and hopes that Percy will leave him be.   
  
He supposes he wouldn’t be Percy if he did.   
  
Credence pulls out his AirPods, despite the childish desire to leave them in, and stuffs them in his pocket as Percy pulls his truck up alongside him. He lowers the window as Credence slows to a walk, breathing deeply, then stops altogether.   
  
“Good morning,” Percy says with a smile that would be charming if Credence didn’t know better. “Don’t you leave tomorrow?”   
  
Credence curses his father’s new friendship with Percy. “Yes,” he says and wipes some sweat off his forehead. “Why?” he asks suspiciously.   
  
Percy chuckles. “Only wondering what you’re doing up so early,” he says. “It’s not even five-thirty.”   
  
“Couldn’t sleep,” Credence says with a sigh. “Excited, I guess,” he adds quickly, just in case Percy gets the idea he can’t sleep because of him.   
  
“You want to go get a bite to eat?”   
  
Credence blinks a few times, opening his mouth, then closing it.  _ No, _ is what he wants to say, along with a  _ go to hell _ for good measure, but he’s starting to feel a little depressed lately with the bombardment of feelings he’s going through.   
  
He looks down the street, at his house, before he sighs. “Fine,” he says and opens the door. He climbs in and pulls his seatbelt on, not looking at Percy. “How was work?”   
  
“Boring,” Percy says as he pulls away from the curb and drives down the street. “But it’s almost always boring.”   
  
“Even with your clandestine lunch breaks?” Credence asks as he tilts his head back against the seat.   
  
Percy laughs, with genuine amusement, and some affection, and it makes Credence’s stomach roil in an unfortunately pleasant way.   
  
“Even with those,” Percy says. “Have you ever been to Yellowstone?”   
  
“No. Mom and Dad have, they went after they got married, but they haven’t gone back since. I’ve always wanted to see it.”   
  
“It’s pretty incredible,” Percy says. “This is a good time of the year to go.”   
  
“What were you doing in Yellowstone?”   
  
“The same as I imagine you’re going to be doing,” Percy says with good humor. “Sightseeing.”   
  
“You like to do that?”   
  
Percy sighs as he glances at Credence, then back at the road. “When you’ve been around a while, Credence, the same old routine gets boring. I’ve traveled all over for sightseeing and various other reasons.”   
  
Credence hums. “Where do you like going most?”   
  
“Canada is beautiful. Washington state too. All of the Pacific Northwest is. California is overrated,” Percy says, a smile in his voice. “South America is nice, during the rainy season. Europe is…” he trails off and looks a little displeased. “Europe, I suppose.”   
  
“You’ve been all over the world, not just here,” Credence says with some amazement. “What’s wrong with Europe? There are so many places I’d kill to see in Europe.”   
  
“Yes, well, I saw it through a lot of its worst times,” Percy says. “Ireland isn’t bad.”   
  
“Because of the rain?”   
  
“That and it’s home.”   
  
Credence blinks for a while before he turns more toward Percy. “What do you mean it’s home? You’re from Ireland?” he asks dubiously, then waves his hands. “How old are you?”   
  
“Thirty-seven,” Percy says and chuckles as Credence groans in frustration. “I’m old enough, Credence. I was born in Ireland, yes.”   
  
“Why don’t you have the accent?”   
  
“The same reason anyone loses it, living abroad long enough.”   
  
Credence looks out of the windshield again. “This is so weird,” he mutters as he rubs his hand over his forehead. A thought hits him so suddenly that he gasps and looks at Percy. “You put a spell on me!”   
  
Percy’s eyebrows raise quite high. “Excuse me?” he asks and laughs. “I can assure you I did not.”   
  
“Yes you did,” Credence says accusingly. “The night we met. That was  _ you,  _ it wasn’t carbon monoxide.”   
  
“Carbon monoxide?” Percy asks as he laughs more. “Why did you…” he trails off, shaking his head. “It wasn’t a spell. I was testing your interest in me.”   
  
“That’s… that’s got to be some kind of coercion.”   
  
“Hey, I wasn’t the one spying on you through my window.”   
  
Credence groans and looks out of the passenger window, gripping at his running pants, still embarrassed about that. “If you hadn’t done that, would I still have wanted you?”   
  
“I didn’t make you want me to begin with. I wanted to see how deeply it ran. That’s why I didn’t do it again when I saw you next. I wanted you to be the one to make the choice. That was all natural you, baby.”   
  
Credence doesn’t want to believe him, but he does. Percy’s always been careful about making sure he’s into everything they’re doing, even watching fucking Netflix. He hates him a little, for being as good to him as he was, because that’s what Credence misses most of all.   
  
“Don’t call me that,” he finally mutters, for lack of anything better to say. He looks up when Percy pulls into a parking lot and sees they’re at IHOP. He huffs. “Do vampires eat pancakes?”   
  
“At least one,” Percy says as he turns the truck off and gets out.   
  
Credence watches him, squinting in the sunlight, like it hurts his eyes, and thinks about devastatingly handsome men and how they always come with a catch. Married, actors, too arrogant to not be insufferable, or vampires.   
  
He gets out and walks inside with Percy. Only two other tables are taken and Credence is glad for the peace and quiet as they’re led to a booth. He asks for coffee and a lot of creamer.   
  
He’s been to IHOP a thousand times and mourns their little coffee cups every time he’s here but Percy merely watches him dump creamer in, his elbow on the table and chin in his hand.   
  
Credence tries not to blush, but Percy looks like he’s enjoying the view.   
  
“Why’d you have to be a vampire,” he mutters and takes a sip of the coffee, only wincing a little as it burns his tongue. “You could’ve just been the older man I was having an affair with.”   
  
Percy smiles. “I became what I am a long time ago, Credence,” he says. “There’s a reason I don’t get into relationships very often.”   
  
Credence hums as he watches him. “You don’t get bored easily, do you?”   
  
Percy looks pleased with him, which is a surprise. “I stay away from relationships because I enjoy being in love. I sleep around because I still like to get my rocks off,” he says and smirks when Credence wrinkles his nose. “I stopped falling in love a long time ago because it never ends well.”   
  
“Never found that person that decided to stay with you for all eternity?” Credence asks dryly.   
  
“I did, actually,” Percy says with another smirk.   
  
“And?” Credence asks, though he thinks he knows, and it makes his heart race.   
  
“He died,” Percy says simply. “A very, very long time ago. I didn’t want to go through it again. It’s easier to have sex with strangers and go to my donor and live my life that way.”   
  
Credence watches Percy as he sips his coffee. “But you wanted me around for a while,” he says. “Why?”   
  
Percy sighs. “I told you already. Your blood is the sweetest, even if I don’t get to taste it. I had  _ you _ either way,” he says and shrugs. “You’re beautiful, you’re smart, you’re funny. You’re interesting. I like you, Credence. Is it so surprising?”   
  
“Well, yeah,” Credence says and holds his hands out helplessly. “I’m not anything special compared to all the other people in New York.”   
  
“You are,” Percy says as he gazes at him. “You might not see it but I do. Other people will too.”   
  
Credence looks down at the table and bites the inside of his cheek. The waitress comes then and they order breakfast. He watches her walk away and drums his fingers on the table, the longing in his chest almost painful.   
  
No, it  _ is _ painful. It hurts, more than it has so far, and his eyes sting. He’s annoyed with himself for feeling this way, for not keeping to his word about worrying about school, his career, rather than any attachments.   
  
He supposes they both ended up being liars.   
  
“Credence,” Percy says softly. When Credence looks at him, he smiles. “There’s nothing wrong with the fact that you enjoyed spending time with me.”   
  
“I know that,” Credence sighs and looks away again. “What’s wrong is that I want to keep doing it.”   
  
Percy doesn’t say anything for a while, drinking his own coffee, black. Bitter and acidic like him, Credence thinks wryly and with a smile.   
  
“Well,” Percy finally says. “You know where to find me, if you want to talk about it more.”   
  
Credence only nods.   
  
They don’t talk about vampires or relationships anymore after that. Percy congratulates him on finishing school and Credence tells him how his exams went, the ideas he has for his thesis so far, and Percy listens attentively. His small smile, now and then, always manages to make Credence trip over his words, but Percy doesn’t tease him.   
  
They eat their breakfast and drink coffee - though Credence has a few more cups than Percy - and by the time it’s going on seven, they leave IHOP and get back in Percy’s truck.   
  
He likes it, he decides, as he looks around it. It’s neat and clean, the way Percy is, and the entire interior is black and there are options on it that tell him Percy is doing quite well. Or maybe he’s built up some kind of fortune, being old enough to.   
  
“Park in the garage,” Credence says when Percy turns onto their street.   
  
“Are your parents early risers?” Percy asks with some amusement as he pulls into his driveway at a bit of an angle and opens the garage and drives inside it.   
  
“Sometimes,” Credence says as he looks at Percy. “But I want you to close it.”   
  
Percy looks at him, like he’s looking for doubt or a lie, but he reaches up and presses the button to close his garage. Once it’s down, he leans toward Credence, his hand moving to the back of his neck and Credence meets him halfway.   
  
It’s more gentle than he had been expecting but he drowns in it either way, the familiar feel of Percy’s lips on his own and the taste of him, when it does eventually deepen.   
  
Credence grasps at Percy’s shoulder, gripping at his shirt, and whines when Percy slides his hand down the back of Credence’s shirt, resting between his shoulder blades.   
  
They pull away from each other to breathe and Credence keeps his eyes closed for a while, licking his lips. When he looks at Percy, he sees that he’s as affected as Credence. He sees that he’s missed him too, missed this, and though it makes him ache, it’s a different sort of ache. Not so much heartache anymore but longing and desire.   
  
“Take me upstairs,” Credence says.   
  
Percy rubs his back. “I don’t want you to regret it after.”   
  
“I don’t think I will,” Credence says with a sigh. “I think I’ll regret it if I don’t have it. I mean, if you want to, anyway.”   
  
“You’ll never have to worry about that,” Percy says with a chuckle. “Come on.”   
  
Credence’s cheeks are warm as he gets out of the truck and follows Percy inside. He’s never come in this way before, but when they step into the living room, his heart feels like it’s been soothed. It’s Percy, all of it, and he looks at the table they eat dinner at, the sofa Percy holds him on - among other things - and at the blackout curtains he fully understands now.   
  
Percy takes his hand and leads him to the stairs before he can get emotional, thankfully. He follows him up them and into the familiar bedroom, biting his lip as he looks at the bed. He wrinkles his nose.   
  
“Maybe I should take a shower first,” he says. “I was sweating a lot.”   
  
“I know you were,” Percy says. “It’s been driving me mad since you got in my truck.”   
  
Credence blushes and laughs. “That does something for you?”   
  
“It does,” Percy says with a smirk. “So don’t shower. Get naked and tell me how you want it.”   
  
It gives Credence a thrill, the familiar demand to get undressed. He likes it when Percy doesn’t ask, when it comes to things like that, and he pulls off his shirt and kicks his shoes off, dropping his running pants after.   
  
“I don’t know,” he says as Percy watches him, his eyes dark and pleased. “I kind of want to ride you, but if you want to smell me…”   
  
Percy chuckles and takes his own shirt and jeans off. “I can still smell you that way, but I have an idea to make it a little better,” he says. He opens his nightstand and pulls out the lube and a few small towels, tossing them onto the bed. “Can we forego the condom for once?”   
  
Credence frowns. “Why?”   
  
“Because,” Percy says with amusement as he looks at Credence, “I am not capable of giving or receiving anything you’re worried about.”   
  
“Oh,” Credence mumbles, blushing again, before he laughs. “Alright. Sure.”   
  
Percy smiles as he drops his boxers and moves to the bed. He sits on the edge, far enough back to be steady, and pats his thigh.   
  
“Fuck,” Credence says but he’s smiling. He steps out of his boxers and moves to Percy, straddling his waist, until they’re pressed chest to chest. He leans in and kisses him as he wraps his arms around his neck.   
  
Percy kisses back, his hands sliding up and down Credence’s back, such a comfort that he melts against him. When one of Percy’s hands squeezes his ass, he hums in approval, his cock hardening against Percy’s stomach.   
  
After Percy pulls back, he reaches over and grabs the lube, popping the cap and putting a generous amount on his fingers. He kisses Credence’s neck then, down over his shoulder and collar, as he reaches around and presses two fingers against Credence’s hole, spreading the lube.   
  
Credence bites his lip and tilts his head back, his breath hitching. Percy’s lips continue to move along him and, as had become normal not long after they met, he meets no resistance when he pushes his fingers in.   
  
“Oh,” Credence moans and relaxes a bit, pushing down against them. “I’ve missed this.” He looks at Percy when he feels his eyes on him and smiles when Percy does.   
  
“I’ve missed it too,” Percy says as he gently moves his fingers in and out, slowly, and the sound is a little obscene, the position they’re in.   
  
When he rubs against Credence’s prostate, his mouth falls open and he moans, his eyes clamped shut. Percy kisses his shoulder, trailing down until his mouth moves over Credence’s nipple. He sucks it, teeth only barely grazing over it, but it’s enough to get Credence’s cock leaking.   
  
Percy pulls his fingers out, only to add a third one, and Credence whines at the stretch, the way it fills him, but it’s not quite as right as Percy himself.   
  
“I’m ready,” he says as he grinds down against Percy’s fingers. “Fuck me.”   
  
“I will, darling,” Percy says, a smile in his voice as he kisses along Credence’s chest, moving to his other nipple and giving it the same attention, curling his fingers still.   
  
Credence moves his hands through Percy’s hair and hisses when he bites him, a little harder. “Percy,” he says. “Right now.”   
  
Percy laughs as he looks up at Credence, grinning, and it devastates him more than he’s already devastated. It’s the same boyish grin that Credence loves, that he thinks he wouldn’t mind spending all eternity staring at.   
  
“Well, if it’s  _ right now,”  _ Percy says with good humor as he pulls his fingers out. He wipes them off on a towel and gets more lube.   
  
Credence moves back some, balanced somewhat precariously on Percy’s thighs and watches him spread lube over himself. It’s almost too much, for once not on a condom and he can see the pleasure in Percy’s eyes when he looks at him again.   
  
“Okay,” Credence says. “I kind of wish you had told me at the beginning so you could have been coming inside me this whole time.”   
  
Percy laughs again. “Sit up more,” he says. “Let me get inside you so you can feel that.”   
  
Credence smiles and scoots closer again, moving up on his knees until he feels Percy’s hand on his hip, guiding him down, the head of his cock pushing up against Credence’s hole. He bites his lip as he moves down himself, hissing as the head pushes in, always wider than he expects, but it melts into a moan as he slides down, not bothering to take it slow.   
  
He gasps once Percy is all the way inside him and tilts his head back, grasping Percy’s shoulders. “Fuck,” he whispers. “Better than my dreams.”   
  
“Oh? You dreaming about this?” Percy asks, his voice rough as he leans back on one hand and peers up at Credence. “Tell me about those.”   
  
Credence gasps as Percy thrusts up and trembles when he pulls out again. He plants his knees more firmly on the bed and moves himself, a gentle slide up and down as he looks at Percy, feels his thumb digging in near his hip bone.   
  
“Most of them are in here,” Credence says, his voice uneven as he moves. “Sometimes you’re in my bed. Hand over my mouth to keep my quiet.”   
  
“You are very loud,” Percy says and smiles as Credence huffs before he grunts when Credence grinds against him. “I like the sound of that so far.”   
  
“So do I, apparently,” Credence says and tilts his head back as he moves a bit faster, moaning. “Fuck, Percy,” he whispers. “Sometimes we’re out, in public, like the backyard where anyone could see. Or an alleyway in the city. I never care who sees when I’m dreaming.”   
  
Percy groans when Credence rolls his hips. “Maybe I can get you to not care outside of them,” he says with a lazy grin. “That’s it, Credence,” he says as Credence rides him harder.   
  
Credence moans as he wraps an arm around Percy’s shoulders so he can get some leverage and drive himself down harder. He can’t find any more words after that, too lost in Percy’s… everything.   
  
He’s missed this immensely and it feels right and better than ever, Percy inside him, Percy grunting against him, as he sucks the sensitive skin of Credence’s neck and drags open-mouthed kisses along him.   
  
He’s not biting there, which he so loves to do, and Credence decides he’ll worry about that later, because his cock is too hard, leaking too much, to have that conversation right now.   
  
Percy’s hand leaves his hip and wraps around Credence’s cock and he cries out when he begins to stroke it, his hand still slick with lube.   
  
Credence’s thighs are shaking and the ache in his knees is good, but nothing compared to the ache inside him.   
  
The sound of Percy’s cock moving in and out of him, the slap of skin on skin, and Percy’s hot breath against his neck pushes him closer. But then Percy murmurs  _ come _ and it’s what he was waiting for, he knows.   
  
He throws his head back and cries out, cries Percy’s name as he comes, hot and wet between them, and when his hips stutter, Percy thrusts into him, hard and relentless and Credence’s nails dig into his back as he holds on.   
  
Percy is louder than normal, another grunt before he groans, deep and raw, pulsing inside of Credence and he watches him through it, moaning, because he’s beautiful when he comes, and because the idea of Percy’s come in him is overwhelmingly hot.   
  
“Shit,” Percy gasps when he’s finished, breathing heavily, pressing his forehead against Credence’s shoulder.   
  
Credence slides his hand up and through his dark hair, breathing with him. “Yeah,” he agrees, trembling, sitting on Percy’s lap fully, because he can’t keep himself up anymore. “I... definitely need a shower now.”   
  
Percy chuckles, kissing Credence’s neck, and looking up at him. “You’re free to take one,” he says and grabs another towel. “Alright, let’s try not to dirty my comforter or carpet.”   
  
Credence laughs, more than he has in nearly a month, and he realizes he missed this the most. The way Percy makes him feel good, makes him laugh, makes his heart flutter.   
  
He sees Percy smiling at him and wonders if he’s thinking something similar.   
  
They manage to not make a mess and Credence stretches once he’s standing, because his knees aren’t going to be happy later, but it’s okay. Everything is okay, he decides, because he’s going to keep doing this.   
  
It was probably foolish to think he could ever keep away.   
  
They shower together and Percy washes his hair, which always feels good, too good, and Credence is afraid he’s going to blurt something out that they both might regret, somewhere down along the line, so he holds it in.   
  
He manages to hold it in through getting dried off and putting on his clothes, to Percy walking him to the door after a while, and he manages to hold it in all the way until he gets into his bedroom and hurriedly changes.   
  
Credence collapses on his bed and presses his face against his pillow. “I think I’m in love with you,” he says quietly, because it’s safe now, even though it makes his heart ache.   
  
He thinks he’s going to stay that way too, for a long time yet.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It started out with a kiss, how did it end up like this? - Credence, probably
> 
> Can you believe I wrote a whole ass second half of this that's just fluff? :) :) :) I'd love to hear your thoughts and I hope you enjoy part two!


	2. Chapter 2

Credence wakes early the next morning and sees a text from Percy. He won’t be able to sneak over and say goodbye, but his heart leaps with joy all the same, since he hasn’t seen his name on his phone in too long.  
  
_Get some good pictures. Have fun and be safe._ _  
_ _  
_ _Thanks, Percy. See you in a week._  
  
It’s busy after that, like any morning is, frazzled and stressful when going to the airport. But they make it on time and the flight is peaceful enough, since Credence wears his AirPods the entire time and sleeps through half of it.  
  
Wyoming is vastly different than New York, of course, with more mountains and plains, and it’s cooler too. His parents have rented a car and they drive to the national park to the Old Faithful Inn they’re staying at.  
  
It’s beautiful, everything about it, and Credence breathes in the fresh air. He can’t help but feel like there’s something missing - someone - but the idea of bringing Percy on vacation with his parents is enough to make him laugh. He doesn’t know what’s going to happen in the future, but maybe they’ll be able to take a trip of their own someday.  
  
There are plenty of things to do and see in Yellowstone. Old Faithful is as wonderful as everyone says it is and Credence takes pictures and sends them to Percy periodically.  
  
They see bison, coyotes, and badgers and deer. The moose they come across while hiking a trail with a tour guide is terrifying and incredible, and it’s not until they’re at a lodge eating dinner that night that they can laugh about it.  
  
Mom asks him who he keeps texting and he says his friends, who else, but she only smiles, like she knows it’s someone a little more special. She’s right, of course, but he thinks he’d rather let a grizzly bear at him than admit who he is currently seeing. Not only would his parents scold him and Percy into oblivion, but it’d cause a rift between him and Percy, he knows, and he’s not going to do that.  
  
Maybe when he moves out he’ll break the news. Maybe.  
  
But the rest of the trip goes by smoothly. It’s fun, just him and his parents, and now that he’s older, steadily approaching his mid-twenties, he has a bond with them he never thought he’d have with anyone. They’re his parents, but they’re his friends too, and he’s not scared to talk to them about anything. Percy, maybe, but that’s still a choice he’s making because he’s comfortable with it.  
  
His parents don’t need to know about his love life, not unless it becomes more serious, and he doubts Percy will ask him to marry him anytime soon.  
  
It has to seem pointless to him.  
  
Getting drunk with them, in the restaurant on their second to last night there, is funny, because Mom curses like a sailor and Dad stares at her like a besotted fool. It’s funny until it’s not, anyway, and Credence groans and leaves them to get to their own room as he goes to his. Another present, he knows, to have his own room.  
  
It’s later in New York, of course, but Credence knows that doesn’t matter, and after he’s collapsed into bed, he calls Percy.  
  
“Hey, sweetheart,” Percy answers and he hears the sound of a door being closed.  
  
“Hey,” Credence says. “Where are you?”  
  
“Well, it’s one in the morning, so I’m at work,” Percy says with some amusement. “Don’t need the people I work with hearing me be anything other than a hardass.”  
  
“They know you’re a softie,” Credence says and smiles as Percy chuckles. “You miss me?”  
  
“I do,” Percy says warmly. “Even if you’re only calling me because you’re drunk.”  
  
“Not that drunk,” Credence says with a sigh. “If I was really drunk, I’d be crying.”  
  
Percy laughs and the sound of it, which he hasn’t heard in nearly a week, makes Credence’s heart skip a few beats. He grins at the ceiling and closes his eyes and wishes Percy was with him.  
  
“You do seem like you’d be a weepy drunk,” Percy says. “Having a good time?”  
  
“Yeah. A really good one. I’m eager to get back home though. One more night after this and I’ll be back in my own bed,” Credence sighs. “Then in yours, hopefully, soon after.”  
  
“It’s waiting for you,” Percy says with a chuckle. “I was thinking about your bed, you know. What you said about it.”  
  
“That was in a dream.”  
  
“Could make it a reality.”  
  
“Ugh,” Credence laughs. “How would you do that? Sneak through my window?”  
  
“I could,” Percy says, a smirk in his voice. “And make all your dreams come true.”  
  
Credence laughs again. “Someone would see you. Or hear you or something. There are cameras all over the neighborhood.”  
  
“It’s a good thing I don’t show up on film then.”  
  
Credence blinks for a while before he sits up, his head swimming. “Wait, you don’t? At all?”  
  
“Not at all,” Percy says. “Cameras, videos, nothing.”  
  
“Don’t you work in security?”  
  
“The cameras I have people monitoring aren’t monitoring me, Credence,” Percy laughs. “They’re all mostly vampires anyway.” Credence’s distressed groan only makes him laugh more. “Nothing to worry about.”  
  
Credence sighs and scrubs at his eyes. “So you could sneak into my room and no one would know.”  
  
“Mhmm.”  
  
“Don’t put that in my head right now,” Credence says. “I don’t want to think about it the whole flight home.”  
  
Percy chuckles. “We’ll talk more about your dreams when you get home then. Go to sleep, sweetheart, I’ll see you soon.”  
  
“So I’m never going to be able to get nude pictures from you?”  
  
Percy’s laughing again. “Possibly, through a mirror, but I doubt it. I’m not sure, I’ve never tried.”  
  
“But you don’t have a reflection!”  
  
“In old mirrors, sure, when they were backed with silver. I do in newer mirrors. The camera probably couldn’t pick me up anyway.”  
  
“That’s confusing,” Credence says and smiles as Percy hums in amusement. “Alright, fine. I’m going to bed. You and I should do this sometime.”  
  
“Do what?”  
  
“Go on a trip. Do some sightseeing together.”  
  
“I like the sound of that,” Percy says and Credence knows he’s smiling. “We’ll figure something out soon. Maybe before you go back to school.”  
  
“Good,” Credence says. “See you in a couple days.”  
  
“See you, sweetheart.”  
  
Credence hangs up and lays back again, his phone on his chest as he stares at the ceiling. He’d almost told Percy he loved him and thinks that’s going to be harder to contain than he thought. But then, it could just be the alcohol, and Credence rolls over, and will dream dreams he can’t remember by morning.  
  
——  
  
After one final day and one more glorious sunset and sunrise, they’re back at the airport and eventually on the flight home.  
  
Credence feels refreshed, like he has his head on a little straighter, more himself than he was for a while. He feels like he could easily run a marathon and maybe shout from rooftops but he tries to tamp that down when he sees his parents exchanging glances.  
  
But they’re home on Saturday afternoon and Credence stares at Percy’s house when they pull into the neighborhood. His truck is there, of course, and he wants nothing more than to go over there, but he won’t. He unpacks and takes a shower and eats dinner with his parents and tries not to feel like it’s all so unbearable.  
  
But when the sun goes down, nearly eight as summer creeps by, Credence can’t help it. He gets into his running clothes and tells his parents he’s going for a long one, while they watch television on the sofa.  
  
He only jogs across the street, of course, and knocks on Percy’s door.  
  
Percy answers and he’s wearing a black tank top and boxers, the bastard, but he knew it was only going to be Credence knocking on the door. He smirks a little and steps aside to let Credence in.  
  
“It looks like Wyoming did you some good,” Percy says and only looks vaguely surprised when Credence grabs him and kisses him. He laughs still, before he’s kissing back.  
  
Credence wraps his arms around Percy’s neck and kisses him, kisses him until he can’t breathe, and hugs him tightly after that.  
  
Percy’s hands rub over his back and up through the short hairs on the back of his neck. “I’m right here, Credence,” he says softly and presses his lips to the nape of Credence’s neck.  
  
“I know,” Credence mutters. Percy has always been able to read him well. “Just missed you.”  
  
“I missed you too,” Percy says and kisses Credence’s cheek before he pulls away. But he keeps a hold of Credence’s hand and leads him through the home and into the living room.  
  
They sit on the sofa together and Credence pulls his feet onto it after taking his shoes off as he rests against Percy’s side, sighing in relief when Percy’s arm moves around him.  
  
“How long do you have?”  
  
“Two hours at most,” Credence says and bites his lip. “This is going to kill me for the next year and a half.”  
  
“It doesn’t have to be for a year and a half.”  
  
“I’m definitely not making it known to my parents,” Credence says. “Not yet. And I won’t be able to afford an apartment until I’m working.”  
  
“I could put you in one,” Percy says and smiles when Credence wrinkles his nose. “Tell your parents you took out a student loan to live on your own.”  
  
Credence huffs and looks at Percy. “No way,” he says. “I don’t want you spending that kind of money on me.”  
  
“I’d be spending it on both of us,” Percy says with a chuckle. “Or you can see if you can be patient for the next year and a half.”  
  
“Fine,” Credence says and leans up so he can kiss Percy. “What were you doing this last week?”  
  
“Eating and sleeping and working,” Percy says. “Nothing exciting, I’m afraid.”  
  
Credence eyes him a little and frowns. “You look tired again.”  
  
Percy sighs. “When you know you’ve got ambrosia at home, fast food just doesn’t cut it.”  
  
Credence raises his eyebrows before he laughs and covers his mouth. “Oh my God,” he says and shakes his head. “You haven’t even tasted me yet.”  
  
“Yet?” Percy asks teasingly.  
  
“Well,” Credence says, his cheeks warm. “I don’t know if you ever will. But I also don’t like the idea of you doing what I saw you doing.”  
  
“You’ll be happy to know I haven’t then,” Percy says dryly. “Well, not in that way. I will actually die, Credence, if I don’t get blood,” he adds with a smirk when Credence grimaces. “Maybe you can pick out my next donor.”  
  
Credence laughs and then shudders. “That’s so weird,” he mutters. “Maybe I will though.” He smiles and sits up, until he can swing a leg over Percy’s lap and straddle his waist. “Let’s talk about that later.”  
  
“As you wish,” Percy says with a smile and pulls Credence down for a kiss.  
  
——  
  
Credence manages to sneak over a few more times over the next week. But Percy is slower to smile now and he looks more tired. He even starts to shy away from sex, except for getting Credence off, and when his pallor begins to turn more grey than white, Credence is genuinely concerned about him.  
  
When he starts yawning, which Credence has never seen him do, he decides it’s been going on for too long.  
  
It’s one of the rare nights he’s planning on sleeping over, telling his parents he’s out with Jon for the night, and Credence watches Percy as he watches Netflix.  
  
“Percy,” he says quietly.  
  
“Hmm?” Percy hums and looks at him. He frowns. “What is it, sweetheart?”  
  
“Are you actually dying?”  
  
Percy’s eyebrows raise before he laughs. “No,” he says. “I’ve just been spoiled in recent years. If I’m going to go longer in between it’ll take some getting used to.”  
  
“Okay, but you look like shit,” Credence says and smiles when Percy shakes his head, pinching his thigh. “If you really need to… I don’t want to watch you get like this, you know. I didn’t realize you would.”  
  
“You could hold out that arm,” Percy says with a wry smile.  
  
Credence is both terrified and fascinated with that idea and he knows Percy smells it on him, but he doesn’t really care. “Maybe one day,” he says carefully. “But you said I could pick out your donor last week.”  
  
“I did,” Percy says as he gazes at Credence. “But it’s an odd environment to be in.”  
  
“That nightclub?”  
  
“No,” Percy says with a frown. “She chose the venue because it’s where she felt safest. Donors are all around the state. Some in the city, in their homes, others in places designed for it.”  
  
“Where’d you go before her?”  
  
“A place not too far away. An hour or so. It’s a nice home, on a bit of land, runs all day and night. But there are a lot of vampires moving in and out of it and I don’t know if you’d enjoy the sight of so many of us feeding.”  
  
Credence isn’t entirely sure he’d enjoy it either, but he doesn’t like the way Percy looks now. Doesn’t know if he’s downplaying how bad it might be. “Would it be dangerous for me?”  
  
Percy shakes his head. “Not when I’m there,” he says quietly and rubs Credence’s thigh. “But you might get stared at.”  
  
“For my, umm… virgin blood?” Credence asks with a wince.  
  
Percy smirks a little. “Yes,” he says. “But that would eventually stop too.”  
  
“Why’d you leave that place anyway?”  
  
“Because my donor went and fell in love and got married,” Percy says with distaste. “Her blood is still sweet but I got sick of smelling him all over her.”  
  
Credence coughs and bites his lip so he won’t smile. “Oh,” he says. “Do you think she’s still there?”  
  
Percy nods. “I know she is,” he says. “Him too. Almost every night, except Tuesdays. They’re saving up for a house and children and all of… that.” He flutters his hand.  
  
Credence does laugh now. “How terrible of them,” he says with a grin. “Do you think you could handle smelling him on her for a while?”  
  
“I suppose I could manage it,” Percy says with a tired smile. “You sure you want to be there?”  
  
“Yes,” Credence says firmly. “Is she there tonight?”  
  
“Tonight?” Percy asks with a laugh. “I suppose you are with me all night.” He looks at the clock and hums, debating on it for a while. “Let me see if she is and who all is there.”  
  
Credence nods and watches as Percy gets his phone out and looks through his contacts, of which there are at least quadruple compared to Credence’s phone. He finally lands on a name and presses it and puts it on speaker phone, for Credence’s sake, he thinks.  
  
“Well, if it isn’t Mister Percival Graves,” a woman’s voice, high and teasing, but kind as well, says. “We thought you was gone for good, honey.”  
  
“You can’t get rid of me that easily,” Percy says with a smirk. “You in tonight?”  
  
“I am, actually,” the woman says. “Why? You swingin’ by?”  
  
“I might be. That husband of yours there too?”  
  
“He is, honey.”  
  
“Anyone else of note?”  
  
“Hmm,” the woman hums. “Margherita is upstairs, but she just went up there. Why?”  
  
Percy smiles as he looks at Credence. “I’m bringing someone with me. So clear whoever you’ve got in an hour and… maybe the one after that too.”  
  
“Ooo, a mysterious stranger,” she says with a giggle. “Alright, honey, you got it.”  
  
“See you, Queenie.”  
  
“Bye, honey.”  
  
Credence watches Percy hang up, chewing on his lip as he looks at him. “She seemed really nice,” he says slowly. “Despite what you’re talking about.”  
  
“She is really nice,” Percy says with a smirk and leans in, kissing his cheek. “Come on, we’ve got an hour drive ahead of us. Probably won’t get home until two or three, if you don’t mind.”  
  
“If you come back looking refreshed, I won’t mind at all,” Credence says as he stands. He finds his shoes and pulls them on. “This is going to be the weirdest night of my life, isn’t it?”  
  
“One of two, at least,” Percy says with a chuckle as he does the same. He grabs his keys and then grabs Credence after, pulling him close and kissing him.  
  
It’s more lively than it has been in a few days and Credence feels vaguely guilty about that. He holds on to the front of Percy’s shirt as he kisses him back, only pulling away when he needs to breathe. He sighs softly as he looks at Percy’s dark eyes.  
  
“Go when you need to, okay? I’m sorry I’ve been holding you back from that.”  
  
“Don’t be, sweetheart,” Percy says. “I understand it.”  
  
They leave the house and Credence hurriedly gets in the truck, his hoodie pulled over his head, which always seems to amuse Percy, though he has stopped teasing him about it. Percy starts the truck and they’re off to some den of vampires and Credence is immensely nervous but also eager, in a way he never thought he’d be.  
  
He’d called it quits when he learned the truth and now here he is, in love with Percy, and going to watch him suck on a woman’s arm, while her husband also watches.  
  
It makes him laugh a little, the absurdity of it.  
  
Percy sets his arm on the center console and Credence intertwines his fingers with Percy’s, sighing in relief.  
  
They drive west, on the 495 to the 27, out to Hampton Bays. It’s a fairly small hamlet right on the ocean, quaint looking for the most part, and such a bizarre place for vampires to meet up and drink human blood, Credence thinks. But Percy drives through town to estates on more land. He turns down a street and drives through tall trees and up a driveway that is eventually blocked from view to those on the street. There are numerous vehicles parked in front of the home, which looks… not at all like Credence was expecting.  
  
He supposes he was expecting an old victorian or gothic manor, not a modern but classy and likely very expensive home. There are steps leading up to two massive doors, pillars on either side, and marble statues of lions, he thinks. It’s bright inside, even, lights turned on, and Credence can see people in what must be the kitchen, the windows floor to ceiling and not covered by black-out curtains. At least not right now anyway.  
  
“You ready?” Percy asks.  
  
Credence licks his lips and nods as he looks at him. “Yeah,” he says, though he’s not entirely sure.  
  
But Percy only smiles and gets out and waits for Credence to meet him in front of the truck. He takes his hand and leads him up the steps to the entryway. There’s a lock with a keypad and Percy enters a number that must be familiar to him. The door unlocks and he steps inside with Credence.  
  
There are voices, but it’s not loud. People sound pleasant enough, like they’re having a good time, and Credence watches two women walk across the foyer and into another room, only giving them a cursory glance.  
  
“Keep hold of my hand,” Percy says as he turns left and walks down a long hallway.  
  
Credence does so, doesn’t think he’ll be letting go anytime soon, because he’s starting to see the bizarreness of it all. There are numerous people on sofas and chairs in a huge living room and half of them are doing what he’d seen Percy do that night. It makes his heart race and he’s sure his palm is uncomfortably sweaty, but Percy doesn’t let him go.  
  
He sees some of the vampires pause and look up from where they’ve been feeding, blood on their mouths, staring at him as he passes.  
  
“Take it as a compliment, sweetheart,” Percy says with a chuckle.  
  
“That they want to sink their fangs into me?” Credence mutters. “No, thanks.”  
  
Percy smiles and pushes open a door that leads into an impressive den. It’s warmer in here, with marble floors and wooden furniture, a few bookshelves lining the walls. It looks well lived in, nothing too fancy, but the numerous cushy armchairs and people lounging in them are decidedly not normal.  
  
“There you are, honey,” a woman’s voice says from the back of the room.  
  
“Queenie,” Percy says as he walks toward her with a smile. He leans down and kisses her cheek before offering his hand to the man sitting next to Queenie. “Jacob.”  
  
“Hey, Mister Graves,” the man says and looks far more nervous to see Percy as he shakes his hand.  
  
“Oh, honey,” Queenie says with concern. “You look awful.”  
  
“I’ve been made aware,” Percy says dryly and pulls Credence closer. “This is Credence. Credence, Queenie and Jacob Kowalski.”  
  
“Nice to meet you,” Credence says, not entirely sure that’s the proper sort of thing to say, when the person in the chair behind him is sucking blood out of someone.  
  
Queenie is beautiful, short, wavy blonde hair and pretty eyes, with a dimpled grin. Her husband is slightly more plain, but he looks friendly too, if a bit wary of Percy.  
  
Queenie giggles. “You too, honey,” she says kindly. “Oh, you’re a sweetheart, aren’t you? Look at him, baby, ain’t he a sweetheart?”  
  
Jacob merely grimaces and waves at Credence. “Yeah, he is,” he says. “But Mister Graves has only ever chosen the sweet ones.”  
  
Credence isn’t sure how to feel about that and Percy coughs a little.  
  
“Not ready to share quite yet, huh?” Queenie asks Credence with a sympathetic smile. “It’s okay if you never do, honey. Blood is so sacred after all.”  
  
“I, uhh… this is all rather new to me,” Credence says. “But Percy’s not handling it well.”  
  
“I am handling it perfectly well, thank you,” Percy says. “Take a seat, sweetheart.” He gestures at Jacob, who frowns at him, but gets up and sits one armchair over.  
  
Credence moves tentatively past Queenie and sits down, trying not to think about what’s been done in this chair, and looks up at Percy, who is watching him, with a faint smile. It makes him feel a little better, at least.  
  
“Ooo, never seen Percy so serious before,” Queenie says as she looks at Credence and winks. “How’d you two meet, honey?”  
  
“Umm. He moved in across the street from me,” Credence says and knows he’s blushing.  
  
“That’s romantic, isn’t it, baby?” Jacob says.  
  
“It is!” Queenie says with a grin. “A perfect love story.”  
  
Credence only tries not to melt to the floor.  
  
Percy sits in the chair next to Queenie and she looks at him. “Go on, before you pass out on us,” she says and offers her arm.  
  
Credence’s heart jumps and he wants to look away, wants to not see this, but he can’t. He couldn’t turn away if he tried and when Percy’s mouth opens, as he pulls Queenie’s arm closer to him, Credence sees fangs. _Real_ and sharp and deadly.  
  
It sends a bolt of fear straight through his heart and a bolt of something else far more embarrassing elsewhere and Percy looks at him, the corner of his lip turned up in a smirk. Credence wants to flip him off, but it’s useless, Percy is so attuned to every damn feeling Credence has.  
  
He sinks his fangs in almost gently and Queenie only hums and doesn’t even wince. Percy’s eyes close after that, like he can’t help it, and Credence stares at him with a bit of awe.  
  
“It’s weird seeing it for the first time, huh?” Jacob asks behind him and Credence flinches in surprise as he turns to look at him. Jacob smiles wryly, like he understands. “Takes some getting used to, but there’s good money in it.”  
  
“How did you…?”  
  
“Quennie’s father was attacked after his girls had been born, see,” Jacob says. “He didn’t like what he became and there weren’t places like this, really. At least they were harder to find anyway. She and her sister helped make a few, in and out of the city, when they were old enough. Keep Pops going and not feeling so guilty about it. She does the same thing, gives to those that just want to go on living a regular life.”  
  
“Mhmm,” Queenie hums and sounds content, her head tilted back against the armchair. “Took a while to convince Jacob it was a real thing I did.”  
  
“Well,” Jacob says, shrugging and smiling at Credence. “I’m not sure you expected Mister Graves to be a vampire when he moved into the neighborhood.”  
  
“I really didn’t,” Credence says and relaxes a little himself, smiling. “How did you… you know, accept it?”  
  
Jacob shrugs. “She took me here and I saw it all in action. Hell of a thing,” he says with a chuckle. “But I also saw that most people here are just regular people, outside of what they have to do to survive. When she told me how much she makes per hour, well… I started thinkin’ bigger.”  
  
Queenie giggles, but doesn’t say anything.  
  
“In what way?” Credence asks curiously.  
  
“I opened my own bakery when we had just started dating. Rent was hard to make every month. When I saw _this,_ when I knew what money could come out of it, I asked if I could do it too. I’m not as popular as her, no one is,” Jacob says with a proud grin. “But I get some good cash too. Rent wasn’t so hard to make anymore. Neither was saving up for a house and at some point, a couple of little ones.”  
  
“A couple of little dough balls, that’s what he calls our future children,” Queenie says and when Credence looks at her, she’s smiling at him. “Not so bad, huh?”  
  
Credence smiles. “No, I suppose it isn’t,” he says as he looks at Percy. He laughs when Percy gives him a thumbs up, but he doesn’t finish what he’s doing. “I wasn’t expecting this when we came in.”  
  
“My wife has class, Credence,” Jacob says with more pride. “Some others run places like this too, but they just ain’t got her touch.”  
  
“My husband, the flatterer.”  
  
Credence bites his lip and feels strange. Not the way he had felt strange coming in, but strange all the same. Like this is something he could get used to. This sort of life, what Percy has to do to survive. Jacob is alright with watching his wife give her blood to Percy and there’s nothing sexual in it. They both look relaxed, but Percy’s interest isn’t in her, not at all.  
  
He wonders if it would be so bad, letting Percy do this to him, in the privacy of Percy’s home, safe and warm and comfortable.  
  
“It’s never been… dangerous?” Credence asks Queenie quietly, though he knows Percy must hear him.  
  
Queenie smiles as she looks at him. “Every once in a while someone in here likes to cause trouble. But it never gets very far, we’ve got people to make sure it doesn’t. I’ve been doing this for years, honey, and me and Jacob have never been harmed. It feels good, to help people,” she says. “The only reason you’re gettin’ stared at is because you’ve never been fed from.”  
  
Credence blushes and looks out at the room. Most people are obscured by the other armchairs, but there are some along the corners that he can see, and even though vampires are feeding, a few are peering at him.  
  
It sends a shiver of fear up his spine and Queenie’s hand rests over his.  
  
Percy pulls off of her, mouth coated in blood and he doesn’t look happy. He looks at the others, who quickly avert their eyes, almost demurely.  
  
“That’s his power, honey,” Queenie says softly. “No harm is ever going to come to you when you’re with him. You’re his and he’ll make sure others know it.”  
  
Credence swallows as he looks at Percy, who looks back at him, a little dazed, maybe, but he smiles and the blood on his mouth should be horrifying, but it’s not.  
  
“You need more than usual?” Queenie asks as she looks at him.  
  
“Yeah,” Percy says, his voice rough and low, and that sends a different sort of shiver up Credence’s spine. But Percy puts his hand to his mouth and bites himself and Credence is brought back down by that sight.  
  
“Ugh,” Queenie says but opens her mouth and lets Percy drip some of his blood on her tongue.  
  
“Yeah, never a pretty sight,” Jacob says knowingly to Credence as he gapes between them, browsing through his phone like he’s seen it a million times before.  
  
Queenie shudders as she swallows the blood and looks at Credence with a grimace, who is staring at her with a bit of horror. “Well, I’m mortal, honey, it’s not gonna taste good to me. Especially his, it’s all sour,” she says with a giggle. “But he needs to take more.”  
  
“Keeps her from losing too much blood,” Percy clarifies and winks at Credence before he runs his thumb over the puncture wounds. Once they’re healed, he bites again and Credence stares for a while, not sure how to feel or what to think.  
  
There’s an excitement to it, he thinks. It might not be sexual here, but he suspects it would be, if he let Percy do this to him. And it doesn’t seem quite as terrible as he’d been imagining. Percy is even protecting Queenie from too much blood loss and Jacob looks like an ordinary man he’d run into on the streets of Manhattan. They aren’t strange or unnatural… they’re normal people. Just like these vampires are normal people.  
  
Just like Credence is a normal person.  
  
Vampires might be the undead and he’s sure there are those out there who are not so normal, not so nice, but Percy found him and Credence is rather madly in love with him. He can’t deny it anymore.  
  
He wants to spend every waking moment with him, misses him dearly if they don’t see each other for a few days, and he keeps thinking about the future.  
  
Of course, their future will not be the same as Queenie and Jacob’s, but he can think about that later.  
  
Queenie and Jacob talk to him about various different things. They ask about his time at NYU and congratulate him on graduating and pursuing his Master’s in foster care. They seem to like him and he likes them. Queenie’s sister isn’t a donor, but she helps vampires find their way here, through her job as a detective, because she recognizes crimes committed by what Queenie calls fledglings, or recently turned vampires.  
  
Better to get them here early, than let tragedy be done by them later, Queenie says.  
  
There must be an entirely different world, when it comes to vampires, running deeper through New York and maybe the world, than he could have ever imagined.  
  
It’s a lot to take in but it’s a world he wants to know more about. His heart aches then, for not giving Percy this, for not trusting him, for not believing him before.  
  
Percy pulls his fangs out of Queenie’s arm and heals the puncture wounds as he looks at Credence and his eyes are dark, in a different sort of way. Not with heat or with the pleasure of getting human blood, but something else.  
  
“You can always tell when it’s new,” Queenie says with some amusement, as Jacob chuckles in agreement. “Lovey dovey eyes and all.”  
  
Percy smiles wryly as he grabs a handkerchief from what looks like a pile of them and wipes his mouth off. “Thanks, Queenie,” he says. “It’s not so bad now that you two are past that stage.”  
  
“Thanks, Percival,” Queenie says with a snicker. “That mean you're gonna come back?”  
  
“Probably,” Percy says and pulls out a thick wad of cash, pressing it into Queenie’s hand as he leans over to kiss her cheek. “Jacob, keep her out of trouble.”  
  
“Always do, Mister Graves,” Jacob says and smiles as he holds his hand out to Credence. “Good to meet you, Credence. You ever need anything, you give us a call, alright?”  
  
Credence blushes. “Oh. Okay,” he says as he shakes his hand. “Thank you very much. It was good to meet you both as well.” He smiles as he holds his hand out to Queenie, but she giggles and pulls him in for a hug.  
  
“You picked a good one, honey,” she whispers as she pats his back. “Good night!”  
  
Credence’s cheeks are even more warm now and he says good night as he stands and walks to where Percy is waiting, holding his hand out. Credence takes it and is surprised it’s as warm as it is, since he normally runs cold.  
  
Percy winks at Queenie before leading Credence out of the room and into the brighter light of the hallway. Credence looks at him and raises his eyebrows.  
  
He looks immensely better, color back in his skin, though he’s still pale and always will be. But he’s not grey and his eyes are bright and he’s… refreshed. Alive, Credence might say, though that would only make Percy laugh.  
  
He’s back to walking like he owns the world, which is just something Credence has to get used to, and he notices that no other vampires even look at them as they pass. _His power,_ Queenie had said, and Credence wonders what that means. Is he more powerful than all the others?  
  
What does power mean, when it comes to vampires?  
  
“You doing alright, sweetheart?” Percy asks as he pushes open the front door and they step out into the warm night.  
  
“I am,” Credence says, because he really, truly is. He smiles as he looks at Percy. “You look good.”  
  
“Not like I’m on death’s door anymore?”  
  
_“Were_ you?”  
  
“No,” Percy chuckles. “A few more weeks, maybe, but I wouldn’t let it go on that long. Should be good until next weekend, more than likely.”  
  
Credence nods as they walk down the drive and to Percy’s truck. “I’m not going to be upset if you come here,” he says. “I’m sorry that I was.”  
  
Percy stops then and tugs Credence closer. “Don’t be,” he says gently. “Anyone would have been upset. I’m sorry I wasn’t able to make it easier on you. If you ever want to tag along when I come up, let me know.”  
  
“Okay,” Credence says with a smile and leans in, kissing Percy. He pulls back and sighs. “Home?”  
  
“Home,” Percy agrees.  
  
Sex is a little wild that night and Credence thinks he should have expected it to be, with how rejuvenated Percy is. He’s not sure how it happens but they get on the rug in the living room and Percy fucks him from behind and makes Credence’s head spin by driving into him as hard as he does and with the filthy things he says during it.  
  
And if Credence thought he’d be getting some sleep after that, he’s wrong, because Percy demands to be fucked not a half hour later. Credence isn’t as confident in dirty talk but Percy isn’t looking for that and it’s far more gentle, in his bed, where Credence can kiss him and watch the way his brow furrows and his eyes flutter shut with soft pleasure as he rocks into him.  
  
He thinks he might have fallen asleep the moment he finished cleaning himself off.  
  
It’s his phone that wakes him in the morning.  
  
Credence groans as he fishes around the bed, then moves closer to the nightstand, where it’s vibrating noisily. It’s past noon, he sees, not quite morning anymore, and it’s his mother calling him.  
  
He looks behind him and sees that Percy is still in bed, on his stomach, peering at Credence with one eye cracked open, his face pressed into the pillow.  
  
He’s almost too good to look at and Credence turns away as he answers the phone. Mom only wants to know if he’s going to be home by evening, because they plan on going out to eat and she wants to know if he wants to join them.  
  
“Oh, uhh… no, thanks. No, Jon and I planned on hanging out for the rest of the day,” Credence says, his ears warm, because he has no idea if Percy will want him around for that long. “Thanks though, have fun. Yeah. Love you too. Bye.”  
  
He hangs up and sets his phone aside again and rolls onto his back. He looks at Percy, who is smiling.  
  
“Guilt is going to eat you alive one day,” he says, his voice hoarse from sleep.  
  
“Thanks for reminding me,” Credence says wryly and turns toward him, sliding his hand under their pillows until he finds Percy’s, holding it. “Is it okay if I stay over?”  
  
“You should know it is,” Percy says and squeezes Credence’s hand. “I like having you here during the day.”  
  
“Even though you’re normally sleeping?”  
  
Percy shrugs. “I don’t really need it. Especially not today,” he says and moves onto his side, propping himself up on his elbow. “Maybe we can make some plans.”  
  
“Plans?” Credence asks as he raises his eyebrows.  
  
“Yeah,” Percy says. “You want to go on a trip, don’t you?”  
  
Credence laughs. “I just got back from one,” he says but he’s smiling. “I suppose school starts in less than two months, so we should.”  
  
Percy smiles. “You feel like staying stateside or going abroad?”  
  
“Abroad?” Credence asks with a grin. “Do you know how hard that would be to hide from my parents? No, it’s got to be stateside. I might even have to get my friend to cover for me. Oh my God, this makes me feel like I’m sixteen.”  
  
Percy chuckles and pulls Credence’s hand to his mouth, kissing his knuckles. “We’ll figure it out,” he says. “Where have you always wanted to go?”  
  
Credence shrugs. “Plenty of places. You said California is overrated but I still wouldn’t mind going someday. But I don’t think I want to go there this time,” he says and hums. “I suppose I want to go where everyone my age does.”  
  
“Disney World?” Percy asks dryly.  
  
Credence rolls his eyes and smiles. “One day,” he says and laughs as Percy grimaces. “Hawaii.”  
  
“Hawaii,” Percy says, perhaps even more dryly. “During the sunniest time of the year.”  
  
Credence shrugs. “It’s supposed to be amazing. You said the sun didn’t melt you.”  
  
“It burns the shit out my eyes,” Percy says. “And it makes me irritable.”  
  
“Grumpy.”  
  
“An asshole.”  
  
Credence purses his lips to stop a smile. “If it’s too much for you to handle…”  
  
Percy laughs and leans over, kissing Credence gently before he pinches his side. “I only want you to enjoy yourself, Credence. I’d like to enjoy it too, preferably.”  
  
“Okay, so maybe not Hawaii,” Credence says as he sits up. He yawns and scrubs at his eyes. “Rocky Point?”  
  
“That’s vaguely abroad and still sunny, Credence.”  
  
Credence snickers and gets out of bed. “Alright, fine. Maybe Maine or something. A little cottage on the water and plenty of seafood to eat. Or in the woods, if you’re so against being near an ocean.”  
  
“They tend to reflect the sun,” Percy says as he looks Credence up and down, something Credence is used to now.  
  
“Maybe we should go down to a rainforest and shelter under a tree for a week.”  
  
“Now you’re talking,” Percy says as he climbs out of bed. “What do you want for breakfast?”  
  
“I’ve been meaning to ask where you got those breakfast burritos from, a couple months back.”  
  
Percy chuckles. “A place called _Los Burritos Hermanos._ You want some delivered?”  
  
“Please,” Credence says and smiles as he finds his boxers and a pair of Percy’s pajama pants. “Just one for me though.”  
  
Percy smiles as he pulls his own clothes on. “More for me then,” he says and winks as he grabs his phone and wanders out of the bedroom and downstairs.  
  
Credence uses the restroom and brushes his teeth before he heads downstairs as well. Percy is finishing up on the phone as he makes a pot of coffee and Credence walks up to him, wrapping his arms around his middle and resting his chin on his shoulder.  
  
“I only have milk and sugar right now,” Percy says apologetically, patting Credence’s hand and reaching up, running his fingers through Credence’s hair. “You doing alright, love?”  
  
“Mhmm,” Credence hums and kisses Percy’s neck before resting against him again. “Just happy.”  
  
“That’s something I like to hear,” Percy says as the coffee finishes. He turns around and puts his hands on Credence’s hips. “Go get my iPad, we’ll look through some things.”  
  
“You have an iPad?”  
  
“It’s upstairs in the office.”  
  
“You have an office?”  
  
Percy tsks. “There are other rooms upstairs, you know.”  
  
Credence smiles. “Well, you never gave me a tour, just shoved me into your bedroom,” he says and grins as Percy shakes his head.  
  
“Go get it already,” Percy says and smacks Credence’s ass when he turns around.  
  
Credence allows it, suspects he always will, and goes upstairs to get the iPad.  
  
Later, after breakfast and a lot of browsing to figure out where they might go, Percy grudgingly books a flight to Hawaii and, Credence thinks, books the most expensive suite at the Four Seasons with an oceanfront view and it’s own little private pool, just to make Credence feel guilty about it.  
  
They’ll go at the end of July, a few weeks before school starts back up, and Credence supposes that gives him time to come up with a lie and get his friend on board with it. It feels strange, lying to this degree to his parents, who have done so much for him, but he’s been doing it for a couple months now.  
  
He just hopes it doesn’t all come crashing down one day. Maybe the guilt really will eat him alive before then.  
  
——  
  
But it doesn’t. And, surprisingly, it doesn’t all come crashing down. Not at first anyway.  
  
There are a few close calls over the weeks, but Credence manages to sneak over to Percy’s often enough, though it won’t be quite what he wants it to be for a long while.  
  
One morning he thinks it might all go to shit because his dad knocks on Percy’s door and Credence hides upstairs in his bedroom, not really able to hear anything, but when Percy comes in, he only tells Credence he’s asking for help with a car part that came in. He leaves and is gone for two hours, but Credence has Netflix and the trust that Percy isn’t about to tell his dad Credence had been up half the night watching Percy drink blood from Queenie and getting thoroughly fucked by him afterward.  
  
He tells his parents in the first week of July that he’s going on a trip with his friend Quint. His parents don’t talk to Quint’s mother like they do to his other friend Jon’s parents and it seems safer that way. He says they’ll be in California, because Hawaii seems strange to say, and he tells them he has plenty of money saved for it to pay his own way, when they offer to help.  
  
It’s true that he has money, but not the amount of money Percy is planning on spending on their extravagant week in Hawaii. He thinks he might be able to afford dinners and drinks, but that’s about it. Not that he thinks Percy will let him pay for those either, but his boyfriend is a filthy rich immortal, so he tries to not feel so guilty about it.  
  
Quint has promised to lie for him, if he needs to, though he tells Credence he’s an idiot a few dozen times. And it is a little embarrassing asking Quint to come and pretend to pick him up one afternoon, because there’s no way he’s getting out of the neighborhood without his parents waving goodbye from the curb.  
  
“This dude better be fucking worth this,” Quint complains as they wait down another street for Percy to text Credence it’s safe to come back to his place. “I can’t believe you’re hiding this from your parents. They’re the best, man, you’re gonna break their hearts.”  
  
“No, I’m not,” Credence mutters uncomfortably. The guilt is beginning to get to him now and he thinks he might have to tell his parents about this the moment he gets back home. “I’ll tell them soon, Quint. Maybe not about Hawaii, but about Percy.”  
  
“Yeah, they’ll love that just as much,” Quint says darkly. “Shacking up with the older neighbor who is apparently friends with your dad now.”  
  
Credence groans. “I know it sounds bad. But they’ll see I’m serious eventually.”  
  
“How serious, by the way? Since you didn’t tell any of _us_ about this guy either until fairly recently.”  
  
“Serious enough,” Credence sighs. “I’ve never felt this way about anyone before.”  
  
“Like, in sex terms or love terms?”  
  
“Both.”  
  
Quint shakes his head. “You are in over your head, man. Tell your parents when you get home. Please. I’m not going to do this for you next summer.”  
  
“I’m not going to ask you to and I’m sorry I did. Thanks for doing it at all. I will tell them. I promise,” Credence says and glances at his phone. “Okay, Percy says it’s safe.”  
  
“Percy,” Quint mutters as he drives down the street to come around onto Credence’s street again. “This is so unlike you, Credence.”  
  
“I know,” Credence groans. “Stop trying to make me feel worse than I already do. It’s just hard to tell your parents you started fucking the nextdoor neighbor, who is fifteen years older than you, and that you fell in love with him by accident.”  
  
Quint huffs. “By accident,” he says. “Like you didn’t know you’d fall in love with him in the minute you met him.”  
  
Credence grumbles, because he’s not about to explain the first few minutes he ever spent in Percy’s company.  
  
But Quint takes him back to Percy’s, who meets them at the curb and besides blushing at Quint’s exclamation of _holy shit_ when he sees Percy, he manages to introduce them, get his duffel bag, and get inside Percy’s place without anyone seeing.  
  
“I’m telling them the minute we get home,” Credence declares once he’s safely inside.  
  
Percy raises his eyebrows and smiles as he sets the duffel bag on the ground next to his fairly posh suitcase. “Getting to you, is it?”  
  
“They gave me a loving home and an education I never have to worry about paying for, let alone all of the other stuff they’ve given me. I love them more than anything, I can’t lie like this. I thought I’d be okay, but… but it feels like throwing it in their faces and it’s starting to make me feel sick.”  
  
“It’s alright, Credence,” Percy says as he moves to Credence, rubbing his shoulders. “Enjoy Hawaii and worry about your parents when we get home. Take a day when we do and think about it. Let me know what help you want from me then.”  
  
Credence feels his lip wobbling but he bites it and nods. “Okay,” he says quietly. “I’m sorry, I really thought… I really thought I could make it for a year and a half. Or at least try to.”  
  
Percy smiles. “Your parents have given you the world, Credence, it’s normal to feel guilty about lying to them. But I have a feeling you don’t lie to them all that often.”  
  
“Just about extremely huge things happening in my life apparently.”  
  
“And look how well you’re handling it,” Percy says dryly. “I want you to enjoy this with me. If you don’t think you can, we can put it off.”  
  
Credence gapes at him. “You’d be out thousands of dollars, Percy.”  
  
Percy sighs and shakes his head as he pats Credence’s shoulder. “Hawaii for a week, if you think you can enjoy it, and tell your parents after. Or cost me a bit of money in cancellation fees, tell your parents, and we go another time.”  
  
“We’re supposed to leave in less than twelve hours,” Credence says despondently. “And I’ve been looking forward to it for over a month now. It’s all I’ve been thinking about.”  
  
“Mhmm,” Percy hums. “And talking about.” He smirks a little as Credence wrinkles his nose. “When we get on the plane in the morning, there’s no turning back. So why worry until we get back home? If you think you can enjoy a week more without telling them, the way you have since April, we might just have a damn good time. But I’m not going to Hawaii and suffering the sun just to watch _you_ suffer in guilt and not be able to enjoy yourself. That’s a bad investment, sweetheart.”  
  
Credence huffs and rubs his hands over his face. He sighs as he looks at Percy. “Okay,” he says. “Alright. I was feeling okay about this until today. I think I just need to… get by today and I’ll be okay. I really want to sit on the beach with you.”  
  
“Tomorrow, love,” Percy says and kisses Credence’s cheek. “We’ll be there.”  
  
“Yeah,” Credence says. “I’m sorry.”  
  
“Don’t be,” Percy says and takes Credence’s hand. He leads him to the sofa and they sit down together. “I am… abundantly well fed as of last night, so I imagine if you struggle, I may just be able to keep your mind off of things.”  
  
Credence laughs. “I thought you felt warmer than usual,” he says as he leans against Percy’s side. “How’s Queenie?”  
  
“Good. Excited for us,” Percy says as he moves his arm around Credence’s shoulders. “She said to take a lot of pictures.”  
  
“I just wish we could get some together,” Credence says with a sigh and smile. “But I do plan on taking a lot anyway.”  
  
“It’ll be a good time,” Percy says and kisses Credence’s cheek. “Even if we can’t take pictures together.”  
  
Credence nods. “It will be,” he says and he knows that’s true. That once he gets on the plane, it will be a good time. “Maybe we can get someone to paint us together.”  
  
“I do know an excellent Renaissance artist.”  
  
——  
  
They leave at four in the morning, for a five-thirty flight, chosen on purpose to escape the neighborhood undetected. Credence still feels massively guilty but he keeps that to himself.  
  
It’s not a fun mix of emotions, guilt and exhilaration, but once Percy leaves the truck in the parking lot and they catch a shuttle to their terminal, it’s easier to forget the guilt. The airport is quieter than when he last flew out of it, everyone sleepy-eyed and drinking coffee, trying to get to their gates without any stress.  
  
Percy has clearly flown far more than Credence can probably comprehend, easygoing and relaxed when it comes to everything, and whatever status he has as a passenger gets them through security in about three minutes, without even needing to take their shoes off. When they get to the gate, Percy leaves to get breakfast and Credence looks through their boarding passes and sees the receipt under one of them.  
  
He’d seen the price of the flight already, but he scoffs when he sees Percy redeemed every dollar with airline points on his credit card.  
  
“How often do you fly?” Credence asks when Percy shows back up with McDonald’s. He hands a handful of creamers to Credence with his coffee. “This didn’t even cost you anything.”  
  
Percy laughs as he sits down next to Credence. “I told you I’ve been all over,” he says. “It gets boring seeing the same landscape all the time.”  
  
“Where’d you last go?”  
  
“Washington state, but that was to visit a friend rather than sightsee.”  
  
Credence yawns as he pours the creamer into his coffee and stirs it. “The immortal kind?”  
  
“I don’t really have many friends that aren’t,” Percy says dryly. “But yes.”  
  
“You probably have friends in every corner of the world,” Credence says as he unwraps a breakfast sandwich. “How often do you travel with other people?”  
  
Percy shrugs. “Rarely,” he says and frowns in consideration. “I don’t remember the last time I got on a plane with someone I was traveling with.”  
  
That makes Credence feel a little better, but he doesn’t say it as he eats his breakfast. He doesn’t think Percy’s probably ever taken anyone to Hawaii anyway and it makes him feel special. Everything Percy’s done for him makes him feel that way. He’s chosen Credence as much as Credence has chosen him.  
  
He tries not to think of the future, but it’s hard not to. It’s such a normal thing to think about in a relationship, but he’s not in a normal relationship. As much as he’d like Percy to stick around forever, well after he’s finished school next year, one day Percy will be gone. He might enjoy being in love and maybe he’ll be in love with Credence, but Credence is going to be older than him at some point.  
  
He supposes that’s a long time from now and he can’t predict the future and tries to shove the thought to the back of his mind.  
  
“Where would you pick, if we go on another vacation?” Credence asks after a while.  
  
“You ever been to Las Vegas?”  
  
Credence laughs. “No,” he says. “My friends and I always talk about going but we haven’t been able to yet.”  
  
Percy smirks as he looks over Credence. “I’d like to see you in Vegas,” he says. “But I’d like to see you anywhere.”  
  
Credence’s cheeks feel warm and he smiles. “Gambling has never interested me,” he says. “But I suppose there’s a lot more to do there than that.”  
  
“Plenty. Especially if you’re not an every day tourist.”  
  
“God, how many times have you been there? A thousand?”  
  
“Almost,” Percy says with a smile. “Saw Sinatra perform in the Copa Room once.”  
  
Credence nearly drops his coffee as he looks at Percy, gaping at him. “You’re joking.”  
  
Percy pats Credence’s knee. “I’ll tell you all about it someday, love,” he says with a wink.  
  
The gate is filling with more people and Credence thinks about his very not-normal relationship and how many surprises it’s going to give him, for as long as he’s in it.  
  
But they’re boarding the plane soon enough and leaving New York behind for a while. It’ll be thirteen hours before they’re in Hawaii and Credence finds that when they’re in the air, his fears do melt completely away. The guilt will come back strong, he’s sure, but he wants this. Every minute of it.  
  
They both sleep for a lot of it and Credence is glad for the rest when they get to Los Angeles, because the airport is an utter nightmare compared to before-dawn in JFK. But Percy navigates it easily and holds his hand without a care in the world and Credence manages to not have an anxiety attack.  
  
The flight into Hawaii flies by, with beautiful scenery on the way in, and the airport is calmer there, thankfully, and the ride to the Four Seasons is peaceful. It’s bright and sunny, not even one in the afternoon, and the tropical plants and eventually the ocean, when it opens up to them, are breathtaking. He calls his mother and tells her he’s safe and sound and ignores the guilt after.  
  
Credence wants to take pictures instead, but he’ll have a better view from their hotel room and merely points out everything to Percy, who has a perpetual scowl on his face like he’s forgotten his glasses despite the fact that he’s wearing sunglasses.  
  
It eases, thankfully, when they get inside the hotel, the fanciest thing Credence has ever been in in his life.  
  
Of course the hotel room is worse and he groans a little in agony when they walk in.  
  
It opens into a spacious living room area with huge sliding glass doors at the back that look directly out onto a wide, clear ocean view. The bedroom is to the left, with a massive king bed and another glass sliding door that leads out to their own small personal pool, tucked away in an alcove for privacy.  
  
“Oh my God,” Credence mutters when he looks at the bathroom, which is nearly as large as the bedroom. The shower and tub are separate and even bigger than what’s in Percy’s house. “I can’t believe you booked this room. How much time are we even going to be spending here?”  
  
“If I have to sit on the beach in glorious Hawaii with you all day long, I expect comfort when we get back here,” Percy says from the bedroom. “I also plan on fucking and being fucked numerous times in here.”  
  
Credence blushes but he’s laughing as he walks back out and looks at Percy. He’s pushing open the sliding glass door, which ends up opening the entire wall up, the white curtains fluttering in an ocean breeze. Credence follows him out onto the patio and they look at the pool, designed to look like a natural hot spring, and Credence sighs.  
  
“I’m never going to be able to give you something like this.”  
  
“It’s a good thing I don’t need you to,” Percy says as he wraps his arm around Credence’s waist and pulls him closer. “I get as much joy out of giving this to you as you get out of receiving it, you know.”  
  
Credence smiles and looks out at the ocean, shaking his head. “Even though I made you come to Hawaii?”  
  
“You didn’t make me do anything,” Percy says. “But I do think I need to stop in the gift shop before we go out to the beach.”  
  
“Sunscreen?” Credence asks with a grin as he looks at Percy.  
  
Percy’s scowling in the sunlight again as he looks out at the ocean. “If it actually did anything, sure. It’s my eyes. I’m half-blinded here and I bought the best sunglasses I could find.”  
  
“Do you want to get lunch first? The restaurant is right by the gift shop.”  
  
“Sounds like a plan,” Percy says and leans in, kissing Credence’s cheek.  
  
Despite the sun and warmth, his skin is still a bit cool all the same, and Credence wonders why, because he normally runs warm after an hour or two with Queenie. But vampire thermodynamics will probably always be a mystery and he changes into swim shorts and a t-shirt, stuffing sunscreen into his pocket. Percy only gets into sandals but he’d already told Credence when the sun goes down, he can enjoy the water with him.  
  
They eat at the restaurant, packed for lunch, and the Catalan shrimp in a saffron white wine broth might be the best seafood Credence has ever had. The cocktails are to die for, once Credence gets past the shock of their cost, and he marvels to think they have an entire week ahead of them.  
  
When they’re done, they walk into the gift shop and Percy finds an assortment of hats. Credence watches him grimace at baseball caps and thin his lips at sun visors with some amusement. He picks up a grey sunhat, complete with chin strap, and frowns at it for a while.  
  
“The fabric is rated to UPF fifty plus for defense against the sun, Credence,” Percy says as he holds it up.  
  
Credence lets out the loud laugh he’s been holding in and covers his face. “Is that what you’re going to wear the whole time we’re here?” he asks as he looks at Percy with a grin.  
  
_“Fifty_ plus defense, Credence,” Percy mutters and puts the hat on after dropping his sunglasses onto his nose. “How do I look?”  
  
“Like you’re about to go on a safari,” Credence says and laughs again. “Oh my God. People are going to think you have a condition.”  
  
“I _am_ perpetually staving off rigor mortis,” Percy says with a smirk. “No one is going to care, Credence.”  
  
“Ugh,” Credence says and shakes his head. The reminder that Percy is the undead is always one that throws him. “Do you need anything else?”  
  
Percy shakes his head and pays for the hat and they make their way out onto the beach. There are numerous umbrellas on the sand, with lounge chairs and blankets laid out and Credence chooses one a little down the way. He smiles as Percy kicks his sandals off and sits down on a lounge chair, crossing his ankles.  
  
“Much better,” he says and beckons Credence closer when he pulls out the bottle of sunscreen. “You leaving the shirt on or taking it off?”  
  
“Off, I think,” Credence says. Even if people stare, it wasn’t his doing, and he thinks Percy has helped him accept that more over the last few months.  
  
“Let me get your back or you’re going to come out of this worse than I will.”  
  
Credence smiles and hands the bottle to him and takes his shirt off. He sits down on the edge of the chair and lets Percy rub lotion on his back, looking out at the crystal clear water and the people enjoying it.  
  
A waiter comes by and asks what they’d like to drink - a New York sour for Percy and a Piña Colada for Credence - and Credence watches him walk away, enjoying the feeling of Percy’s thumbs digging into his muscles, achy from being on a plane for so long.  
  
“I do have something I want to give you,” Credence says and looks over his shoulder at Percy, smiling.  
  
“Hmm?” Percy hums as he moves his hands up and over Credence’s shoulders. “What’s that?”  
  
“My arm.”  
  
Percy’s hands still and his eyebrows raise on his forehead as he peers at Credence. He smiles faintly and slings an arm around Credence’s waist, until he turns and leans against Percy’s chest.  
  
“You sure about that?” Percy asks and there’s no teasing in his voice, not even any hope.  
  
He’s only ever been considerate of Credence and what he wants and it makes Credence want to blurt out how much he loves him for it, but he manages not to. At least for now.  
  
“Yeah,” Credence says. “I’ve been thinking about it for a long time now. I trust you and I’m ready for it. I know you’re… filled up, but I want to do it here.”  
  
Percy chuckles. “Always room for dessert,” he says and smirks when Credence huffs at him. “I told you. You’ll always be the sweetest.”  
  
Credence’s cheeks are warm but he can’t stop smiling. “You won’t have to go anywhere to get it when we get home.”  
  
“Let’s see how you feel after this week,” Percy says and leans in, kissing Credence’s shoulder and up along his neck. He keeps his mouth pressed against his fluttering pulse for a moment and hums in approval. “And you tell me when you want to give it at home.”  
  
“Okay,” Credence says and chases Percy’s lips, kissing him. He pulls back with a sigh. “Tonight, in the room.”  
  
If he could see Percy’s eyes, he knows how dark they’d be. He can feel his stare, that same brand on his skin he’s felt since the night he met Percy, and Credence bites his lip, because it threatens to get his blood boiling.  
  
“Alright, love,” Percy says and kisses Credence’s cheek. “Tonight then.”  
  
Credence smiles and picks up the bottle of sunscreen and gets his arms and face, Percy’s arm hanging loosely across him still. The waiter comes back with their drinks. The Piña Colada has a thick slice of pineapple and a maraschino cherry on it, decorated with a live pink flower, and is by far the best one he’s ever had, after he’s taken a few drinks.  
  
He kisses Percy and gets onto his own lounge chair and they talk for a while. Percy seems to be doing much better under the shade of the umbrella and with his hat, though it makes Credence want to laugh every time he looks at him. He dearly wishes he could take a picture and he’s surprised that it hurts so much, knowing he’ll never have pictures of Percy.  
  
It feels like some kind of loss and it kind of makes him want to cry but he pushes that away before Percy feels the need to comfort him, because it’s not something he thinks he can explain right now without getting embarrassed.  
  
Credence enjoys his drink instead and when he’s done with it, he walks out to the water and gazes around at the most beautiful sight he’s ever seen. Yellowstone was something incredible, something he’d like to see again, but the beach and lush, tropical landscape is something else entirely. If Percy wasn’t allergic to the sun, he might suggest they move to a beach someday.  
  
He supposes he can always go with his friends to the beach now and then. A Disney World and Miami Beach vacation and it makes him laugh, when he thinks about what Percy would have to say about that.  
  
After enjoying the water and sand for a while, he joins Percy again, because it won’t be quite as fun until the sun sets. They drink a few more cocktails and people watch but Credence eventually gets hungry and they head to their room to change into something more formal.  
  
The restaurant they choose is gorgeous, a dark interior and low lighting making it feel more romantic, but the kitchen is open to view and adds life to it. Credence has another cocktail that’s to die for, while Percy orders whiskey, what else, and they dine on steak and lobster.  
  
“I booked this a while back,” Percy says when they’re done eating, nursing their drinks, and shows his phone to Credence.  
  
He squints a little and reads _night snorkeling with manta rays._ It makes him gasp and Percy laughs. “When do we do that?”  
  
“Three nights from now,” Percy says with a smile. “Should be fun.”  
  
“If by fun you mean incredible,” Credence says and smiles as he finishes his drink. “Thanks, Percy. You didn’t book any dancing lessons, did you?”  
  
Percy laughs for a while. “Now that you mention it…”  
  
“Ugh,” Credence says and grins. “I do want to get up early tomorrow. We’re supposed to be able to get a nice view of the dolphins right after dawn.”  
  
“You may convince me to get out of bed and look at that,” Percy says. “You want to go back out onto the beach?”  
  
Credence nods eagerly and after Percy has paid, they go to the room and change. Credence is glad they’re in the suite they are, so close to everything, with their own little private walkway down onto the sand. There are still people out, but not a lot in the water. Seeing Percy take his shirt off finally, without the hat or sunglasses, gives Credence a thrill.  
  
They spend some time in the water, most of it kissing and trying not to be obnoxious about it, and sit in the low tide in the sand. The stars are bright here, brighter than Manhattan, and Credence leans against Percy and listens to the waves and wishes he could do this for the rest of his life.  
  
“I love you,” he says, because it feels right, and yet there’s a sudden, paralyzing fear in his heart, now laid bare. He was never supposed to fall in love and yet here he is, in Hawaii with Percy, who treats him like he’s truly special, who makes him feel like no one else has before.  
  
But Percy doesn’t tense up or go quiet, he merely hums, like he’s happy to hear it, and tightens his arm around Credence’s waist, pulling him closer.  
  
“I love you too,” he says, like it’s the easiest thing in the world.  
  
Credence’s heart is hammering away and he’s trembling a bit from the anxiety of having said it, but to hear it back, to hear it back like Percy has been waiting for him to say it first, to be comfortable doing so, soothes the ache and soothes the fear. He has to blink tears away for a while and wishes Percy wasn’t so perceptive sometimes, because he takes Credence’s cheek in his hand and brushes his thumb under his eye.  
  
And then he kisses Credence, sweetly, but with a passion that makes his heart race for a different reason. They hold tightly onto each other and Credence thinks this kiss might be as good as the first had been.  
  
They pull apart and head back to their room, which only seems natural. They rinse off in the ludicrously large shower and kiss for a while in there, until the glass walls have steamed up and Credence is aching to fuck or be fucked.  
  
“Percy,” he whispers as he drags his hands down Percy’s back, pressed up against the tiled wall. “I want to fuck. And I want you to bite me.”  
  
Percy groans against him, already kissing along Credence’s neck and he presses their cocks more firmly together, both hard and aching. “I will, love,” he says when he pulls back to look at Credence. “It’s going to make you as relaxed as everyone feels. You want it before, during or after?”  
  
Credence licks his lips and blinks for a while, through the haze of steam and the fog of arousal. “I don’t know,” he says and grins. “I think it might get overwhelming during.”  
  
“Could help you sleep the night through after,” Percy says and smiles. “Or it might lead into the best sex we’ve had yet.”  
  
“That’s going to be hard to top,” Credence says wryly. “Though I do suppose some of the best sex we’ve had is right after you’ve gotten your fill.”  
  
“And I’m going to be getting my fill of _you,”_ Percy says, low and husky. “That’s an entirely different matter altogether.”  
  
Credence bites his lip as he watches Percy. “Will it make either of us feel different after?”  
  
“Closer, maybe. Like sharing anything sacred in a relationship might do,” Percy says and kisses Credence gently. “Because it is sacred, your blood and the choice to give it to me.”  
  
Credence’s cheeks feel warm, but it’s what Queenie had said too. But he’s not afraid anymore like that night. Afraid and intensely curious, but now he’s just curious and very keen on sharing this with Percy. It’s not what he feared the first time he saw it, he’s known that for a while now, and he thinks he might feel silly for waiting as long as he has after tonight.  
  
“Alright,” Credence says and smiles, digging his nails into Percy’s back, because it always makes his eyes go heavy with pleasure. “Let’s do it. In bed, please.”  
  
Percy nods and grinds gently against Credence as he kisses him again. He seems to pull away with some regret but they finish the shower and dry off. The bedroom is much cooler and Credence climbs into bed to get warm and Percy smirks as he follows into the bedroom, a fluffy white towel in his hand.  
  
“Might get some on the bed,” he says. “I’ll dispose of it later and save housekeeping the worry.”  
  
Credence laughs. “That’s a good idea,” he says and moves over a little so Percy can put the towel down. He makes sure it’s all the way under Credence’s arm and hand before he climbs into bed with him.  
  
Percy kisses him again, slow and languid, sliding his hand along Credence’s chest and down over his abdomen. He thumbs at his hip until Credence moves his arms up and around his neck, pulling him closer, until Percy is on top of him. He’s just the right amount of weight, always making Credence feel safe and secured.  
  
He kisses Credence’s jaw and neck and over his shoulder, gently biting now and then, and Credence lets himself enjoy it, knowing sex will come later. Percy pampers him with kisses, up and down along him, and it does leave him intensely horny, but he wants something else first.  
  
Percy’s attention moves to his shoulder and down his arm then, like he knows it. He gently presses Credence’s arm over the towel, palm up, and kisses slowly along it and Credence watches him, breath hitching when he feels Percy’s tongue against his heated skin. He kisses one area longer, the place where he’s going to bite Credence, and he looks at him then, for approval.  
  
Credence smiles lazily, boneless despite his arousal and nods. “Please, Percy,” he whispers. “I want to feel it.”  
  
“It won’t hurt for long,” Percy says quietly and presses a gentler kiss against Credence’s arm. “I promise.”  
  
Credence nods and he knows what Percy’s fangs look like, but when he opens his mouth and sees them again, he doesn’t feel any fear like last time. Arousal and fascination, but it feels so good to not fear it anymore, and he watches eagerly as Percy presses his fangs gently against his skin. He doesn’t break it quite yet, doesn’t seem like he can resist kissing Credence’s arm once more, and he grins as he watches Percy.  
  
But Percy presses his fangs there again and he bites, as gently as he’s always bitten Queenie, and Credence flinches at the brief shock of pain, because those fangs are very sharp and long. He bites his lip, hard, and focuses on the weight of Percy on him, but it really is only seconds before the sting and duller pain in his arm is washed away.  
  
And watching the pleasure on Percy’s face, as Credence’s blood fills his mouth, helps immensely. He’s looking at Credence, to make sure he’s okay, but his eyes flutter shut after a moment and he groans as he drinks Credence’s blood for the first time.  
  
Credence understands why everyone looks so relaxed during this, because there’s a pleasant fog of it over his mind, yet he can’t look away. He runs his hand along Percy’s back, occasionally digging his nails in, until Percy groans again and rolls their hips together.  
  
“Percy,” Credence whispers as he watches some of his blood drip down from Percy’s chin, running along his arm, warm and different than anything he’s ever felt before. “Fuck, that feels amazing,” he says, because it really does.  
  
He tips his head back against the pillow and bites his lip as he feels Percy sucking blood from him, giving him life, pleasure, and something sacred.  
  
Credence looks at him again and knows he can do this, with no issues at all, for the rest of his life.  
  
But Percy is pulling away all too soon, another tiny sting of pain when his fangs leave Credence’s arm. But he licks the beading blood up and the puncture wounds close, the pain gone, only leaving smears and lines of blood that have made small pools on the towel.  
  
The blood on Percy’s mouth probably shouldn’t be as arousing as it is, but he feels it course through his veins, his cock hardening. Percy smiles as he moves away from Credence’s arm and over him again. The smell is sharp and metallic, will take a lot of getting used to, and he’s only thankful Percy doesn’t try to kiss him.  
  
He kisses Credence’s jaw and neck and collar bone instead, down to his chest, nibbling at his nipple for a while, until Credence whines. Percy chuckles and when he looks up again, a lot of the blood is gone, pressed against Credence’s skin, and Percy looks pleased as he looks over the blood smears.  
  
Credence laughs. “Fuck me already,” he says with a grin.  
  
“How about,” Percy says as he sits up, straddling Credence’s waist, “you fuck me like this? I want you in me while I’ve got your blood in my veins. Sweetest I’ve ever had, Credence. I knew you would taste like perfection.”  
  
Credence blushes but he’s smiling and moves his hands to Percy’s hips. “Sounds good to me,” he says and grins as Percy chuckles. “You’ll do it for longer next time?”  
  
“Patience, love,” Percy says with a smirk. “I want you to get used to it before I take more.” He slides his hand over Credence’s chest, brushing over the blood smears, his eyes dark. “Beautiful.”  
  
“Alright,” Credence laughs. “Get the lube.”  
  
——  
  
They are closer after that, Credence thinks, whenever he thinks of the way Percy had stared down at him, riding him slowly, mumbling praise and endearments until he’d driven Credence over the edge. The look in Percy's eyes, like he's as deeply in love with Credence as Credence is with him, won't be something he forgets.  
  
Hawaii is incredible in every way.  
  
They spend a lot of time on the beach and if Credence goes swimming, Percy has his iPad to browse through, though Credence knows he takes about a thousand pictures of everything (and Credence).  
  
They eat a lot of good food, drink a lot of good drinks, including a bottle of champagne every night before bed, watch dolphins jump through waves in the mornings, swim with manta rays and walk through dense vegetation, looking at unique wildlife. Credence gets Percy into the ocean during the day once, to look at sea turtles and tropical fish, and though he scowls at the sunlight reflected on the water for a while, he does end up getting pictures for Credence.  
  
But he does swim with Credence in the ocean at night and after they sometimes spend a while in the heated pool and watch the stars. One night Percy sinks his fangs into Credence’s arm in the pool and drinks from him and it’s the most relaxed Credence thinks he’s ever been.  
  
Percy drinks from him every night and by the second to last night of their vacation, he’s fucking Credence through it and taking more, and Credence realizes he was right. It’s the best sex they’ve had so far, the relaxation of being fed from mingled with arousal and the energy and satisfaction Percy gets from Credence’s blood, like he’s a delicacy and always will be.  
  
It seems to help with the sun, even, though Percy still wears his sunhat and sunglasses, but he doesn’t scowl as badly. He doesn’t tan or burn, though Credence wishes he would tan, because he thinks it’d be a turn on. He himself never tans, only burns, but it’s alright, because he gets to feel Percy applying sunscreen to him every day and there’s something in that that’s almost better than sex.  
  
Almost.  
  
Percy’s sweet, always considerate, always taking care of Credence and making sure he’s comfortable, and he makes it look easy. Like there’s nothing in the world he likes more. He’s even come here with Credence, simply because he wanted to see Hawaii, and sometimes it overwhelms Credence, the love he feels for Percy.  
  
It’s intense some days and some days it’s a low simmer, something burning under his skin, not quite the same way Percy has been burning under his skin from the beginning. It’s calmer and warmer, not heat and need, but something to bask in all the same.  
  
Every night before they sleep, Credence tells Percy he loves him and every night Percy says he loves him too, and kisses him while caressing his cheek.  
  
Credence believes him, thoroughly, because Percy had told him he likes being in love, but he believes him because he feels it.  
  
It’s scary and exhilarating and sometimes he feels tears stinging in his eyes because he wants Percy around forever. He doesn’t think too far into the future because it threatens to overwhelm him even more, but he does think about a few years from now, and what it might look like, if Percy is still by his side.  
  
On their last night, before they head to the airport in the morning, Credence is lying in bed with Percy, his chin on Percy’s chest as Percy runs his fingers through his hair.  
  
“Ireland next time?” Credence asks.  
  
Percy smiles and cracks an eye open to look at Credence. “It rains a lot in Ireland, you know.”  
  
“It’s also pretty stunning, from pictures I’ve seen.”  
  
“Some parts,” Percy says and smiles, closing his eye again. “Sure. I’d be glad to show you around.”  
  
“Where were you born?”  
  
“Tiny place called Foulkesmill.”  
  
“What’s it like?”  
  
“Very different now, I imagine,” Percy says with a smirk as he looks at Credence. “I left a long time ago. Got tired of working fields and pigsties. But it’s green and on a river. Probably a better place than it used to be.”  
  
Credence smiles. “It’s hard to imagine you working fields and with pigs.”  
  
Percy laughs. “Well,” he says with a shrug, “there were no security firms back then.”  
  
Credence grins and leans up, kissing Percy before he rests on his side next to him. “Were you turned there?”  
  
“No,” Percy says and smiles at Credence. “In the heart of Dublin.”  
  
“How long ago?”  
  
Percy is quiet for a while but he’s still smiling. “I’ll tell you all about it someday, love,” he says. “Maybe when we’re there.”  
  
Credence bites his lip and nods. There’s quite a story in there, he suspects, but he won’t push for it. He kisses Percy again and they get wrapped around each other for a while, until it’s later than they should be up for a morning flight.  
  
They leave the doors open and Credence watches the white curtains shift in a breeze, hears the ocean in the distance and feels Percy’s arm around his waist. He smiles and he will remember Hawaii in a lot of ways, but this one will perhaps be one of the best.  
  
——  
  
The flights home cause more anxiety this time. Percy is there to keep him calm but they’ll be stepping back into the real world, with real world problems, like how in the hell Credence is going to tell his parents about Percy.  
  
He thinks about it for most of the flight from Los Angeles to New York and all the horrible ways it could go, worse and worse as he keeps imagining them. His parents trust him and he knows he’s never really caused them trouble, not even when he was a teenager. They’re always saying how proud they are of him and begging him to stop thanking them for being wonderful and he feels horribly guilty again, lying to them the way he has.  
  
It was exciting in the beginning, but it’s certainly not now. Percy doesn’t say anything, only holds Credence’s hand and kisses his cheek when it gets to be a bit much for him.  
  
But it’s the middle of the night by the time they get into the neighborhood and Credence will have the time to come up with a plan tomorrow, because he’d told his parents he’d be home sometime in the afternoon.  
  
Hawaii had been perfection, but there’s something comforting about being back in Percy’s home, because it’s starting to feel like home as much as the one across the street does.  
  
They sleep as late as they can to try and get back on New York time and Percy makes pancakes around noon and Credence drinks a lot of coffee, with plenty of creamer, that Percy now has stocked in his refrigerator.  
  
“I don’t think there’s going to be a delicate way to go about it,” Credence says when he’s finished with his breakfast, sitting at the table with Percy.  
  
It’s a bit striking, when he thinks about the first time he had, versus now.  
  
Percy smiles as he takes a drink of coffee and sets his mug aside. “Just going to blurt it out?”  
  
“It’ll be less painful,” Credence says and smiles. “I hope so anyway.”  
  
“I think it’s going to go better than you think,” Percy says with a shrug. “Half the time I spend with your dad and the Studebaker he spends talking about you.”  
  
Credence groans. “I don’t want to know what stories he’s told you.”  
  
Percy merely smirks and shrugs. “They love you, Credence. It’s not like you committed murder. It’ll be okay.”  
  
Credence sighs as he picks up his coffee and finishes it. “If you say so,” he mumbles. “If they kick me out, can I live with you?”  
  
Percy laughs and pats Credence’s hand. “You can live with me whenever you want, but they’re not going to kick you out,” he says. “Get it over with and call me or come over and tell me what you need from me.”  
  
“I will,” Credence says and bites his lip, mostly because he can’t stop smiling. “Thank you, Percy.”  
  
“Anything for you, love,” Percy says and picks up their plates. He presses a kiss to Credence’s forehead and walks to the sink to rinse the plates off.  
  
Credence watches him and tries to think about the fact that they’ve only been seeing each other for going on four months and had been apart for nearly a month in between that. It’s not nearly long enough to imagine wedding bells, but the idea of Percy in a tuxedo is very appealing.  
  
He stands up and brings their coffee mugs to the sink. “Okay,” he sighs. “I’m going home. If you don’t hear from me in a couple hours, send in the fire brigade.”  
  
Percy laughs for a while and shakes his head. “It’ll be fine, Credence,” he says, still laughing, and leans in to kiss him, briefly. “I’ll see you soon.”  
  
Credence smiles. “See you soon,” he says and walks to the stairs. He grabs his duffel bag on the last step and peers out of the window in the foyer to make sure his parents aren’t outside before he leaves Percy’s home.  
  
He hurries across the street to his home and unlocks the door, stepping inside. “I’m home!” he calls.  
  
“Credence is home!” he hears his mother shout in the general direction of the stairs and winces a little.  
  
She’s there to greet him in the living room, hugging him and kissing his cheek and taking his duffel bag to the laundry room and he’s only glad Percy’s suitcase had the incriminating items in it.  
  
Dad comes downstairs and hugs him and claps him on the back and they sit in the living room and Credence knows they expect him to tell him about his trip, but as he looks between them, he doesn’t quite know how to start.  
  
Mom’s name is Melony. He called her Miss Melony for the first few months here, when he was still afraid and damaged and expecting his new family to turn on him at any moment. Dad was Mister Tom for just as long. But nothing bad ever happened and one day he stopped being afraid and one day they were simply _Mom and Dad,_ the way they’ve been since.  
  
They’re immensely good people, immensely good parents, who don’t deserve to be lied to, after everything they’ve done for him. Not just loved him and treated him right and made sure he was happy, but they’ve given him the opportunity for an education, they’ve given him vacations, the chance to see more than just New York, they’ve given him so much that he knows he’s lucky.  
  
Luckier than a lot of kids who were in foster care with him, something that’s pushed him to pursue the career that he is going for.  
  
Lying has never been something he’s been good at. He lied a few times his first year with them and the guilt had eaten him alive then too, always pushing him to confess, even if it was just admitting he _had_ been hiding behind the sofa to watch the R-Rated movie past his bedtime when his parents saw the terror on his face in the morning.  
  
He’s a lot older now, free to make his own choices about who he sees, and it’s helped him keep that from them, along with the other rather large reasons.  
  
Credence knows that he can never tell them what Percy is, but maybe they’ll take him being older than Credence better than they would that piece of information.  
  
He looks at their smiling faces and swallows dryly. “I’m seeing someone,” he blurts out, a cold sweat on his forehead, and yet there’s relief in saying it finally.  
  
His parents exchange wry glances and Dad smiles flatly. “You don’t say,” he says. “I’m assuming this means you weren’t actually with Quint for a week.”  
  
Credence groans a little, because he knows they’ve suspected he’s been seeing someone, but it’s still embarrassing. “No,” he mutters and looks down at his lap, not wanting to see the disappointment. “I wasn’t in California either.”  
  
“Bed and breakfast upstate?” Mom asks dryly.  
  
Credence grimaces and looks up at the ceiling, his knee bouncing. “Hawaii?”  
  
Mom gasps. _“Credence,”_ she scolds. “Your dad and I thought you might have stayed here or at least nearby!”  
  
“I was kind of hoping you’d believe I was with Quint,” Credence says and puts his hands over his cheeks. “Oh no. Oh my God.”  
  
“Him picking you up was pretty good, I’ll admit,” Dad says and chuckles when Mom elbows him. “Your mom and I were young once, you know. Hid it too, for a while, from her parents, you know that. Surprisingly us old people remember how it’s all done.”  
  
Credence grimaces as he looks at them. “You’re not old,” he mutters. “I’m sorry. I really am. I didn’t think telling you Hawaii with Quint would be believable.”  
  
“It still would have been nice to know you were so far away,” Mom says with a frown. “Anything could have happened. It was okay?”  
  
“Yeah,” Credence says and he knows he’s blushing. “It was amazing.”  
  
“Well? What’s his name?” Dad asks as he wraps his arm around Mom’s shoulder, his eyebrows raised.  
  
Credence opens his mouth, then closes it as he looks between them. Their raised eyebrows, Mom’s pursed lips, Dad’s little smirk. He stares at them for a while with a dawning horror and groans again, covering his face with his hands. “How the _hell_ do you know?” he moans in agony, too afraid to look at them.  
  
“Larry’s doorbell camera has a pretty good view across the street, Credence,” Dad says. “A nice surprise one day, when he asked if I knew what my twenty-two year old son was up to.”  
  
Credence stays buried in his hands for a while, shaking his head. His heart skips a few beats, but they don’t mention Larry not seeing _Percy_ on his camera, and he prays that it’s the kind that only turns on with movement.  
  
“Why didn’t you tell me you knew?” he finally asks as he looks up at them helplessly.  
  
“You’re old enough to make your own choices and mistakes,” Dad says with a shrug. “We assumed it had been a mistake for a while there, but it was obvious you two picked it back up.”  
  
“Does Percy know you know?” Credence demands loudly.  
  
His parents look like they want to laugh. “No, honey,” Mom says and shakes her head. “It’s your business. We figured if it ever got serious you’d tell us and bring him over. Not my first choice for you, I’ll admit,” she says tightly. “But if he’s taking you to Hawaii, I guess I’ll have to live with it being more serious.”  
  
“We just hope you’ve thought about the implications of it, Credence,” Dad says seriously. “He might have different intentions than you do.”  
  
Credence blushes again and thinks about his despair over the last week being for nothing and feels a bit exhausted now. “I didn’t mean for it to get serious,” he says. “It just did. And Percy and I have talked about intentions plenty.”  
  
“And what are his?”  
  
“He wants to take me to Ireland next,” Credence says helplessly. “He’s uhh… he’s got family there.”  
  
Mom and Dad peer at him for a while. “You’re going to continue studying?” Mom asks.  
  
“Of course,” Credence says with a frown. “That was never going to change because I started seeing someone. Percy’s supportive of that too.”  
  
They look relieved.  
  
“Good,” Dad says firmly. “Because no relationship is worth giving up on what you’ve worked so hard for.”  
  
Credence purses his lips, mostly so he doesn’t laugh. “I know,” he says simply. “How have you been able to spend time with him and not say anything?”  
  
Dad shrugs. “I took it as an opportunity to get to know him and see what he’s like outside of a relationship with my son. He’s not my first choice either but that’s because of his age,” he says with a wry smile. “I do like him, Credence. So does your mother. And he always finds parts for a quarter of the price I do. Still a mystery how he does it.”  
  
Mom sighs and rolls her eyes at Dad. “We _do_ like him,” she says. “But we’re always going to be worried. We’ll run him out of the neighborhood if he hurts you.”  
  
Credence laughs at the idea of his parents trying to scare Percy into doing anything. “Thank you,” he says genuinely. “Thank you for talking to me about this. I’m really sorry I didn’t tell you when it got serious.”  
  
“We knew you would eventually,” Dad says. “But if it gets _anymore_ serious, try to tell us sooner rather than later.”  
  
Credence smiles. “I will,” he says and bites his lip. “Promise.”  
  
“Alright, come on,” Dad says as he stands and opens his arms. “Family hug.”  
  
That makes Credence laugh again and he hugs his parents, taller than them both, and he finds he can’t quite stop smiling. He’s immensely relieved, of course, highly embarrassed too, and he’ll have to deal with Percy’s _I told you so,_ but he can live with that.  
  
It wasn’t the yelling and disappointment he’d feared and he probably should have known that it wouldn’t be. Given his parents that credit. But he doesn’t plan on lying to them about anything else anyway - besides the fact that Percy’s main source of sustenance is human blood - and he has a long time to go before he really has to worry about what the future looks like.  
  
Credence does tell his parents about the trip after that. It’s so strange, talking about Percy openly, but it’s exhilarating too. He thinks he might blab more about Percy in Hawaii than Hawaii itself but his parents don’t tease him for it. They look happy for him, even if they’ll probably always keep a wary eye on Percy, but Mom seems touched by the nighttime snorkeling surprise and smiles when he admits Percy helps a lot with his anxiety in crowded spaces.  
  
“The man is an intensely relaxed individual,” Dad agrees with some amusement.  
  
Credence supposes when you’re hundreds of years old, nothing really fazes you anymore, but he doesn’t say it.  
  
But he runs out of stories for now and his parents must see that he’s itching to get back to Percy, because Mom sighs and tells him to go, and he hugs them again, somewhat teary, before he leaves and walks across the street.  
  
In broad daylight, without a care in the world, besides maybe a scowl in the direction of Larry’s house.  
  
Percy answers the door but before he invites Credence inside, he holds out his hand, in which a house key sits.  
  
Credence blinks at it, then up at Percy and smiles. “Tired of getting off the sofa to answer the door?”  
  
“Very,” Percy says with a smirk as Credence takes the key and he steps aside to let him in. “You look happy.”  
  
“How can I not be?” Credence asks, because the key is more than that just and they both know it. He puts it in his pocket and slumps against Percy, wrapping his arms around him and resting his head on his shoulder. “You were right, of course.”  
  
“I’m always right,” Percy says and kisses Credence’s head. “I’m glad it went well, love.”  
  
“If by well you mean they knew I wasn’t with Quint, that I was seeing _you,_ and it’s serious, yeah, it went well,” Credence mumbles. When Percy only chuckles, he pulls back to look at him, squinting. “You suspected that too, did you?”  
  
“I’ve told you plenty of times you’re a terrible liar, Credence,” Percy says. “Not just because I can smell it on you. Your parents would know it too. How’d they find out?”  
  
“Oh, you don’t know that?” Credence asks and jumps a little as Percy pinches his ass, laughing. “Larry apparently watched me come over here a lot from his doorbell camera.”  
  
“Larry,” Percy mutters. “I’ve yet to find a reason to like him, but I’m sure that made it easier on you today. Come on, love.”  
  
Percy leads him into the living room and they sit on the sofa together. Credence leans into his side and smiles as he looks around the familiar room and knows how much better it’s going to be here, now that it’s not being hidden from his parents.  
  
“Mom said she’d run you out of the neighborhood if you hurt me,” Credence says and looks up at Percy with a smile.  
  
Percy smiles back. “Well, it’s a good thing that isn’t something I’m ever planning on doing.”  
  
“What are your plans, Mister Graves?”  
  
“Hmm, let’s see,” Percy says. “I plan on watching you go back to school and helping with your inevitable panic throughout the year as you work on your thesis. I plan on watching you graduate and get a good job within the foster care system and probably doing a lot more good for it than others might. I plan on you living with me, but that’s probably going to happen sooner than those things. I plan on taking you to Ireland and anywhere else you want to go. I plan on watching you be happy and content and successful in your life for as long as you’ll let me. Should I go on?”  
  
Credence is grinning and he laughs. “That might be enough. For today anyway,” he says and if he’s choked up and teary again, well, Percy only plants a kiss on his cheek. He sniffs and chases his lips, kissing Percy long and slow, before pulling back with a sigh. “I love you.”  
  
“I love you too,” Percy says and he’s smiling tenderly, perhaps more tenderly than Credence has seen yet. “Stay with me tonight?”  
  
“Yes, please. Maybe the next night too?”  
  
“The one after that?”  
  
“The whole week?”  
  
“I wonder what the owner will think, all these nights off work.”  
  
“...I bet you’re the owner, aren’t you?”  
  
“Oh, right, I suppose I am. Well, I think it sounds like a hell of a plan.”  
  
Credence never meant to fall in love. When he saw Percy Graves the first time in his driveway, sweating in a tank top and working on his truck, he’d been hoping for a fling or two, if he was lucky. But he thinks from the moment they first shook hands, they were always destined to end up here.  
  
A few bumps in the road and the idea of immortality and all that comes with it don’t seem like all that big of a deal, when Credence spends his time curled up on Percy’s sofa and feels his arm around him, feels his lips on his forehead.  
  
That’s love, he thinks, the little things. The way Percy cooks him dinner and washes Credence’s hair in the shower, the way he listens when Credence tells him about his days, the way he makes Credence laugh. That’s love for Credence.  
  
When he looks at Percy and sees him smile, he thinks Percy might just agree.  
  
Love was never supposed to happen, but it’s here now, and no matter what path they take together in life, Credence knows it always will be.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It was nice exploring this vampire au in a fluffier and happier way than my other one. But it got way more fluffy than I was expecting all the same. It's nice to wrap up some of these longer WIPs that have been near completion for a while considering I keep starting a new one every few days it seems.
> 
> Hope you liked it! I'd love to hear from you.
> 
> Thanks for the support and love [Erin](https://www.tumblr.com/blog/angelsallfire) and [Soz](https://www.tumblr.com/blog/soz)!!!
> 
> And my Mama, who is not only helping me every day with my New Reality™, but reads and enjoys my fanfiction too!!
> 
> [Tumblr](https://www.tumblr.com/blog/vtforpedro)


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